No. 6 Dulaney softball beats rival Towson, 11-0, behind pitcher Madison Schupple

The No. 6 Dulaney Lions gave pitcher Madison Schupple a one-run lead in the first inning to start a cold and windy day. Though her hitters gave her plenty more run support, it turned out one was all she would need.

Schupple pitched an absolute gem Tuesday against Towson, striking out seven in a five-inning game, giving Dulaney an 11-0 victory in a battle of Baltimore County rivals.

To say Schupple got off to a good start may be a bit of an understatement. The sophomore struck out the first six batters she faced. The only blemish on her record was an error she committed, which was followed by a base hit by the Generals’ Samara Murchison in Towson’s half of the fifth inning.

“Madison was amazing,” Dulaney coach Dave Barwick said. “What a great thing it was to have her come over from Carver this year. She’s gotten so much better than last year. Those batters were so confused today that they barely swung.”

When the Lions (7-0) weren’t out in the field, they were hitting the ball.

Dulaney got on the scoreboard early in the bottom of the first, when a single by Kimani Dennis between second base and the shortstop plated Lila Gordon for a 1-0 lead.

Dulaney did most of its damage in the third. The Lions picked up seven runs and five hits off Towson starter Jelana Gardiner in the frame, the biggest of which were doubles by Carley Desi and Ester Weinstein. Dulaney sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, with Weinstein picking up both a double and a single before the side was retired.

“I felt very, very happy with my effort, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” said Schupple, who aided her own cause with a fourth-inning double and a walk. “They were amazing today and we hit the ball really well.”

Towson (5-2) put a bit of pressure on in the top of the fifth. The Generals got two runners on with an error by Schupple on a ball she tried to pick up at her feet and the Murchison single, but Schupple got Bea Gamble to pop fly to first base ended the threat.

The Lions finished off the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and Dulaney leading 9-0 with the bases empty, Avery Remeto singled to left field. The next batter was Brynn Townsend, who made Gardiner pay for a ball over the middle of the plate by depositing the ball over the center field fence for a home run to end the game.

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“That’s my second one that I’ve hit in high school,” Townsend said. “My hitting had kind of been on the brink of breaking out, so I’m super-excited to get that one in a key situation like that.”

Townsend said the win was a big one for the Lions in more ways than one.

“This is the best team we’ve played so far,” she said. “They’re always a competitive team and they have a group of very talented girls. We strung our hits together today and played solid team defense, and that’s what you see on the scoreboard.”