Poland, OH-- Poland Seminary's Elliana Thompson had a standout performance at the plate, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs to lead the Bulldogs to a 9 to 3 win over the West Branch Lady Warriors on Friday.

West Branch opened the scoring in the top of the first when Mati Hawk doubled to bring home a run and give the Lady Warriors an early lead. Poland answered quickly in the bottom half of the inning. Thompson gave the Bulldogs the lead with a two-run homer to center field. Cassie Blanch followed with a groundout that scored another run, making it 2 to 1 in favor of Poland.

Thompson continued her strong day in the second inning with another home run to center, this time driving in two more runs. The Bulldogs broke the game open in the third inning with a five-run outburst. Sydney Bulick delivered a two-run single, Thompson added a two-run double, and Avery Jakubovic chipped in with an RBI single to push the lead to 9 to 1.

West Branch kept battling, with Hawk and Ellie Tucker each collecting two hits. Hawk finished the day 2 for 4 and drove in all three of the Lady Warriors' runs. Defensively, West Branch played clean in the field, turning a double play and committing no errors. Hawk also led the team with 10 chances defensively.

Lillian McDonald earned the win for Poland, pitching all seven innings. She allowed six hits and three runs while striking out seven and issuing no walks. Klary McKay took the loss for West Branch, giving up seven runs on four hits over two innings. She struck out one and walked three.

What's Next: West Branch Varsity Softball returns to action on Tuesday at Salem with first pitch set for 5 PM.