Photo by Cody Nespor Martins Ferry’s Taylor Bell belted a two-run home run during the first inning of Friday’s 7-3 win over Wheeling Central.

WHEELING — A four-run top of the first made all the difference Friday afternoon as Martins Ferry softball dealt Wheeling Central just its second loss of the season, winning 7-3 on Ben’s Field at the JB Chamber I-470 Sports Complex.

The Purple Riders (8-0) wasted no time flexing their muscle on offense as Maria Clark tripled in Danielle Lude on a ball that snuck under the right fielder’s glove and Taylor Bell immediately followed that with a home run blast far past the left field fence that put MF up 3-0 just four batters into the contest.

“We work on that and we worked on getting to this girl early,” Martins Ferry coach Jerry Magistro said. “We’ve got capable batters that can do that.”

Neveah Hall scored on an error later in the innings as the visitors struck for four first-inning runs off of Wheeling Central (9-2) starter Josie Frizzell.

“(Martins Ferry’s lineup is) pretty solid one through nine,” said Central coach Buck Davidson. “You can’t let up on any of the batters, they all put the ball in play and put the ball in play hard. We made a couple of bad plays (in the field), but you can’t take anything away from (Martins Ferry). They hit the ball, put it in play and scored the runs.”

Ferry loaded the bases to begin the top of the second on three straight singles by Kelsie Gillespie, Hunter Pollock and Lude. They cashed in two of those runs on a ground ball fielder’s choice by Clark and a sacrifice fly to right by Bell, but Frizell was able to avoid any major damage.

“That just shows what kind of kid that she is,” Davidson said of Frizell. “She doesn’t get rattled. It’s nice to know that even if she does get some hits off of her, it’s not going to shut her down and she’ll stay in the game.”

Frizzell really settled in after the second inning. In the final five frames, she allowed just two hits as the Purple Riders only added one more run, aided by two Central fielding errors.

“I think in the middle (of the game) and the end, we got a little bit too relaxed,” Magistro said. “We should’ve stayed aggressive the whole time and we didn’t do it.”

Starting in the circle for the visitors was Gillespie, who did a great job of keeping the ball on the ground for Ferry’s defenders to turn into outs. Of the 12 outs she recorded, eight were ground outs and two more came on a line-drive double play.

“I think that we’re an all-around team now, more than just having to rely on hitting all the time,” Magistro said. “I think if we don’t win with hitting, sometimes we can win with pitching and sometimes we can win with defense. (Friday) we had some really nice plays on defense.”

When Central did have success on offense was when they were able to get the ball into the air off of Gillespie. Frizzell stung a ball over the center fielder’s head for a double in the first inning and Ava Hanson blooped a single into the outfield to lead off the bottom of the third. Trina Baker followed Hanson with a two-run home run to left field that made the score 6-2 in the early goings.

Ashlee Baker similarly sent a shot out beyond the fence in left-center for a solo home run that made it 6-3 after four innings.

“I’m proud of my girls, the one thing I like about them is that they never give up,” Davidson said. “They play from the first inning until whenever the umpire calls the last out and that’s all you can ask for.”

Lauren McFarland replaced Gillespie in the circle in the fifth inning and closed out the game for Martins Ferry. She surrendered just two singles and a walk over the final three innings.

For the victors, Bell finished with a home run and three runs driven in. She hit the ball hard in three of her four plate appearances and made several nice defensive plays at third base.

“Taylor’s just one of those girls that lives in the gym,” Magistro said. “She’s a true softball player, she loves the game. That girl works hard in everything that she does and I’m happy for her.

“Taylor’s got that power, we saw that. She’s as powerful as anybody on the team, if not the most powerful girl on the team.”

Clark recorded a two-hit night with a single and triple and two RBIs while Lude had an RBI and a single. Pollock and Gillespie both knocked a pair of base hits.

For Central, Frizzell finished with three strikeouts in the circle, allowing seven runs in seven innings. She also recorded a single and double at the plate. Trina and Ashlee Baker both hit the long ball, with Trina driving in two runs and Ashlee one.

Both teams are scheduled to play doubleheaders today with Central hosting Paden City at I-470 and Ferry traveling to Monroe Central.

Martins Ferry 7, Wheeling Central 3

MF 4-2-0 0-0-1 0 — 7 9 0

WC 0-0-2 1-0-0 0 — 3 8 3

MF — Gillespie wp (0K, 1BB), L. McFarland (5) (2K, 1BB) and Hall. Pollock 2S, Lude S, rbi; Clark S, T, 2rbi; Bell HR, 3rbi; Gillespie 2S.

WC — Frizzell lp (3K, 2BB) and Hanson. Frizzell S, D; A. Baker HR, rbi; T. Baker HR, 2rbi.