On a night when Jefferson and Xavier softball parents and fans raised $2,000 for her cancer-stricken mother, J-Hawk second baseman Kaitlyn Davidson played what she called “by far my best night of the season.”

The doubleheader Tuesday at the Jefferson softball complex was designated as “Strike Out Cancer” night. Those at the game were asked to make a pledge for each hit, strikeout, run or home run by the two teams to help cover medical expenses.

“I knew every hit counted,” said Davidson, who helped her J-Hawks sweep the Saints, 5-0 and 9-3. “I try hard every game, but maybe I tried a little harder tonight.”

For the twinbill, she ended up 4-for-6 with three runs batted in and one run scored.

Her mother Kristi was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and will undergo surgery on Thursday.

“I knew mom would miss at least the next three games,” said Davidson, a slick fielding junior. “She told me the best thing I could do for her was to keep playing hard, so that’s what I tried to do tonight.

"I had no idea the parents were going to do this. It really means a lot to me. The softball family is like my second  family."

Though the games turned out not to be close, several of Davidson’s hits produced runs at key times. In the opener, with her team ahead 3-0 in the fourth, she singled and scored with two outs on a grounder by Kailey Drake that was misplayed.

Jefferson added another insurance run but didn’t need it since ace pitcher Hannah “Pete” Petersen tossed a three-hit shutout with eight strikekouts and one walk.

“Pete pitched very well,” said J-Hawk Coach Larry Niemeyer. “When she’s on, she’s pretty hard to score on.”

The Jefferson offense, meanwhile, manufactured runs on a series of bunts, Xavier errors, aggressive baserunning and well-placed ground balls through the infield.

“We like to put pressure on,“ Niemeyer explained. “Sometimes bunts cause strange things to happen.”

In the nightcap, Davidson and senior centerfielder Drake again came though in the clutch. Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Jefferson’s first run was knocked in by Davidson. Madison Blietz followed with an RBI triple.

Then, to open the third, Drake lined a sharp hit to center, stole second and scored on a double to deep center by Maddie Hansen. Davidson added to a five-run inning with two RBIs on a double.

Down 8-1, Xavier picked up a pair of runs in the fifth. The Saints put runners on with consecutive walks to Morgan Breitbach and Allison Schwab, both of whom scored on a fielder’s choice.

Rachel Sedlacek doubled in the sixth for the seventh-ranked J-Hawks and was brought home by Hansen to close out the scoring. Winning pitcher Brooke Stauffer allowed just four hits.

“We played pretty good defense, and helped the pitcher out,” said Niemeyer. “And we hit the ball.”

His team recorded 13 hits in the second game.

“That was our best offensive game of the year,” said Drake. “We were hitting the gaps and sprinting around the bases like crazy.”

With the two victories, Jefferson ran its winning streak to 11 games and raised its season mark to 12-1. Xavier dropped to 5-5.

Saints interim coach Nikki Price said she was disappointed in the play of her young team. “Defensively, we need to be sharper and make the routine plays,” she said. “On offense, we have to be more selective on the pitches and hit the  ball a lot better.

“Tonight, we definitely did not show our true talent.”

Price is filling in for head coach Brian Erbe, who is recovering from heart surgery.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the "Strike Out Cancer" fund can contact Melanie Koolbeck at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

GAME ONE

XAVIER (0)
Courtney Colston, cf, 2 0 0 0, Sydney Galligan, rf, 2 0 1 0, Erin Drahozal, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Jenna Schulte, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Emily Walton, c, 3 0 0 0, Hayley Deutmeyer, ss, 3 0 0 0, Jamie Feltes, dh, 3 0 2 0, Lindsay Ireland, lf, 3 0 0 0, Allison Schwach, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Jacey Wiebold, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 23 0 3 0.

JEFFERSON (5)
Rachel Sedlacek, lf, 3 0 0 0, Kailey Drake, cf,  3 2 2 1, Maddie Hansen, c,  2 0 0 0, Amber Grimm, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kenna Fry, 1b,  2 0 1 0, Savannah Fowler, pr, 0 0 0 0, Hannah McInerney, dh, 2 1 1 0, Hannah Peterson, p, 3 0 1 1, Dani Stromert, cr, 0 1 0 0, Maddie Koolbeck, rf,  3 0 0 0, , Carson Burgart, ss, 2 0 1 1, Kaitlyn Davidson 3 1 2 0, Madison Blietz, 3b, 0 0 0 0. Totals 23 5 8 3.

Xavier                        000 000 0 – 0 3 3
Jefferson                   001 220 x -  5 8 0

Wiebold and Walton. Petersen and Hansen. W - Petersen. L - Wiebold. 3B - Feltes.

GAME TWO

XAVIER (3)
Courtney Colston, cf, 4 0 0 0, Sydney Galligan, rf, 3 1 2 1, Erin Drahozal, p, 3 0 0 1, Jenna Schulte, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Jamie Feltes, 3b, 3 0 1 1, Hayley Deutmeyer, ss, 3 0 0 0, , Lindsay Ireland, lf, 3 0 0 0, Morgan Breitbach, dh, 1 1 0 0, Allison Schwach, 2b, 2 1 1 0, Erica Miller, c, 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 3 4 3.

JEFFERSON (9)
Rachel Sedlacek, lf, 4 1 2 0, Kailey Drake, cf,  4 2 2 0, Maddie Hansen, c,  4 0 3 2, Amber Grimm, cr, 0 1 0 0, Kenna Fry, 1b,  4 1 1 0, Hannah McInerney, dh, 4 1 0 2, Hannah Peterson, rf, 4 0 0 0, Carson Burgart, ss, 3 2 2 1, Madison Blietz, 3b, 3 1 1 1, Kaitlyn Davidson, 2b, 3 0 2 3, Brooke Stauffer, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 33 9 13 9.

Xavier                        100 020 0 – 3  4 1
Jefferson                   025 101 x -- 9 13 0

Drahozal and Miller. Stauffer and Hansen. W - Stauffer L - Drahozal. 2B - Sedlacek, Hansen. 3B - Blietz.