BERNE — For the fourth time this year, members of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo softball team were able to run a victory lap around the base paths. If they had followed the practice last year, they would have done it only four times.

The Lady Bulldogs met last year’s victory total with a five-inning 17-0 win against Northville on Friday. It was the first time the Bulldogs had the mercy rule — 15-run lead or larger — work in their favor.
"These girls are very good players," said BKW Coach Mike Reynolds of his team. "Everybody is working very hard. They need this weekend off."

The win improved BKW’s record to 4-6. The Lady Bulldogs played Galway on Monday and at Duanesburg on Tuesday. BKW then hosted Duanesburg on Wednesday.
"We tied our wins record from last year," Reynolds said. "We are ahead of ourselves from last year in league play. Every single game they have performed better than the last. That is also a testament to the coaches and players that came before us."

Nuking Northville

In Friday’s game, the Lady Bulldogs scored in every inning that they played, while shutting out Northville.

Kieva Reynolds did the job for BKW in the pitcher’s circle. She gave up just two hits and walked one batter. She struck out 13 Eagles, including the first six batters she faced in the first two innings. She struck out the side in the fifth frame after giving up her second hit.

The Bulldogs also had an offensive explosion in the contest.

BKW scored two runs in the first inning, three in the second, five in the third, and seven in the fourth.

Keri Rossback led off the first inning with a walk for BKW. She stole second base and advanced to third on a single by Lacey Yakel. Rossback then scored on an RBI groundout by Reynolds.

Yakel advanced to third base on the groundout and then scored on a groundout by Amanda Tubbs.

In the second inning, with one out, Danielle Thielsen reached first base on an error. She then stole second base. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Rossback walked for the second time.

Yakel followed with a single to score Thielsen. Rossback and Yakel would later score on back-to-back wild pitches to make the score 5-0 after the second stanza.

Katrina Yakel, who was running for Megan Leonard scored, the first run of the inning. Katei Stanton, Tracy Williams, Thielsen, and Rossback scored in the third inning.

Thielsen had an RBI single and Vicky Gerard had an RBI groundout in the frame.

The Bulldogs scored seven runs in the fourth inning, their last at-bat of the contest.

BKW sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame and got a big bases-loaded triple by Reynolds that drove in three runs.

Katrina Yakel, Stanton, and Ashley Fisher scored the first three runs of the frame. Then Vicki Lounsbury, Rossback, and Lacey Yakel scored on Reynolds’s triple. Reynolds scored the seventh run of the inning to give the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead and put them in position to win by the mercy rule.

Reynolds struck out three of the four batters she faced in the top of the fifth and the game was over.

The Lady Bulldogs deserved the break that the shortened game allowed.
"We practice every single day that we aren’t playing," Mike Reynolds said. "We played five games this week and they keep coming back. Our catcher [Katrina Yakel] was injured earlier this week. But she has come to every game and she never asked to get in."

Small steps

The Bulldogs set a goal of improving in each game as the season went along. Reynolds thinks they have.
"We are taking the foundation that was laid before us and we are building on it," Reynolds said. "We are having some success and we are getting support of the school and families. BKW is on its way."

The crowd support the Bulldogs got on Friday was well received by the players who benefited from their hard work.
"Coach [Lori] Leonard and I have worked them very hard in the gym," Reynolds said. "We may have had four practices on the field. The girls are seeing that the hard work is starting to pay off.
"We want to continue to build on the success," Reynolds added. "The girls are very enthusiastic about softball. We want to be like the other sports in the school. We want to be successful in softball as well."

Besides Friday’s win, BKW holds two wins over Sharon Springs and a road win against Saint Johnsville. The Bulldogs lost a non-league game to Gilboa-Conesville and suffered Western Athletic Conference losses to Canajoharie, Saratoga Spa Catholic, Fonda-Fultonville, and Schoharie.

Even in a loss, the Schoharie game showed how much the Bulldogs have improved.
"Schoharie mercied us last year," Reynolds said. "We held them to three runs this year. I consider that a victory. Canajoharie was a competitive game and we had a competitive game with Fonda."

Reynolds said that his players have the right attitude toward making the changes the softball program needs to make to be tough in the WAC.
"It’s just a group of kids," the coach said. "We had some fans here and I would like to see more people come to the home games. The girls are working really hard. They have gotten so much better. People need to see it."