by Andrew Straub

Coming off the diamond late Thursday afternoon, Eastern Tech High’s softball team probably wish it could always be this easy.  The temperature was in the upper 70s. The Mavericks were one of a few Baltimore County teams still undefeated, and they had just gotten a dominating performance on the mound by their ace. 

Towson batters had no answer for senior starting pitcher Lauren Scrivener, whose four- hit, 12-strikeout performance dazzled the home crowd in an easy 7-1 decision. The Mace Avenue school remained perfect at 6-0.

“It’s great to get a win here.  Since I’ve been in high school this is definitely our best team that we’ve had,” said Scrivener. “We’re really athletic this year and everyone understands what they are supposed to do in order to win, and it showed today.”

Scrivener pitched all seven innings, allowing one unearned run while walking four batters.  Although the southpaw’s small stature often fool batters into underestimating her ability, there’s no mistaking her tenacity once she begins her wind-up.  

“Today was her best performance of the year. She stayed focused for most of the time, which was important because sometimes she can be her own worst enemy,” said Eastern Tech coach Dave Scrivener, Lauren’s father.  “One thing about Lauren is she is very competitive, and I know from being around her exactly what I’m going to get when she’s on the mound.”

Eastern Tech got on the board first in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs on a single by senior Brittany Kakellos.  After Towson (2-2) brought their deficit down to one on an overthrow to first by Lauren Scrivener in the top of the fourth, she settled down and struck out the next two batters to short circuit a rally. It was as close the Generals would come to Eastern Tech which added three runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth.

“It’s good to get going after a few slow starts the last couple of seasons.  They came out focused and did a good job,” said Dave Scrivener.  “The toughest part of our schedule is yet to come and we feel like we can play and beat anybody.  But we can always lose to anyone at the same time, so we have to keep up.”

The Mavericks will take on their first Baltimore County Division II opponent Friday afternoon at undefeated Sparrows Point. Lauren Scrivener wants to make sure her team stays focus on the prize.

“Last year, we thought we would make it to the state finals, but we made a lot of stupid mistakes and got kicked out of the regionals,” said Lauren Scrivener. “It’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves and take it one game at a time.  As a captain, it’ll make sure the team pays attention and jumps on the next team first before worrying about states.”   

Eastern Tech 7, Towson 1
    
Towson            000  100 0-1   4 3
Eastern Tech     020  032 x-7 14 2

Baker and Dobrzycki; Scrivener and Edgerton. 2B: Towson – Reilman; Eastern Tech – Tibbs.