COVINGTON — Fort Loramie had already played a strong schedule, but this weekend made the team even more battle-hardened.

The Redskins won two close games in which hits were scarce, and they dominated one of the top teams in the Three Rivers Conference to improve to 17-8 overall.

Fort Loramie, which is tied with Russia atop Shelby County Athletic League standings, played 10 games in the span of eight days. The squad lost three games against strong opponents in the middle of the stretch but beat Houston 2-0 on Friday, then beat Milton-Union 12-2 in five innings the first game of the Covington Invitational on Saturday and followed with a 1-0 win over Fairborn.

“Our girls got in a little bit of a zone here. I don’t know if they’re necessarily zombies here, but they got a little bit in auto pilot,” Fort Loramie coach Brad Turner said.

“We’ve had some good team-building stuff going on between games. Hopefully, that and the pressure cooker we’ve had this past week will be a good thing for us. We got through it pretty healthy, and that’s good as well.”

The Redskins are the No. 3 seed in the Dayton Division IV sectional and will be the highest seed in any potential sectional and district matchup they’ll have.

“This is the time of year where you want to compete in these types of games and play in this type of environment,” Turner said. “… The draw went pretty well for us. But it’s the second season; you can throw the records out and still play. Hopefully these types of games get us ready for what’s ahead.”

Senior pitcher Kate Ruhenkamp has continued to lead the team. Ruhenkamp, a four-year starter, became the program leader for career strikeouts earlier this week. She surpassed the previous record of 439 in 3-2 loss in nine innings to Coldwater on Wednesday; she struck out 10 batters in the game.

Ruhenkamp earned both wins in Covington on Saturday. In seven innings against the Skyhawks (16-7), she struck out seven batters without walking any and gave up five hits.

“She’s meant a lot for the program, and it’s neat to see all of that work,” Turner said. “It’s not just these four years. It’s going back a long time even before high school for her.

“She gives us a chance. Just like this game, we made some nice plays; Alex Rose made a couple of outstanding plays (at third base). But we played clean everywhere. When she’s working around the plate and gives us a chance, that really helps the girls stay focused on defense.”

Fort Loramie had three hits against Houston on Friday but managed to push across one run in each the third and fifth innings. Autumn Turner hit an RBI double in the third. Jaden Rose reached base on a bunt single in the fifth and scored after a wild pitch, sacrifice bunt and passed ball.

Fairborn senior pitcher Hailey Webb had already set a program record for single-season strikeouts. After Saturday’s game against Fort Loramie, she had 199 strikeouts on the year (the squad was scheduled to face Covington in the nightcap).

The Redskins struck out 13 times and managed four hits, but two came in the first inning and resulted in the game’s only run.

Claire Hoying hit a line-drive single to center field with one out, and with two outs, Claire Goubeaux hit an RBI double to left field.

Turner said Hoying, who is the team’s No. 2 batter, has been the most consistent hitter. She was 2 for 3 against Fairborn with one walk.

“She’s making things happen,” Turner said. “Her second hit today wasn’t a line drive by any stretch of the imagination, but it found a gap, and she’s been getting on base. She knows the game and does well.”

Turner said Hoying, who played left field, has been playing well, as have all outfielders. The squad didn’t commit an error in either game Saturday.

“Claire has been a little bit of a Swiss Army knife for us. She plays outfield, she plays second base, she pitches some,” Turner said. “Wherever she goes, she plays spot on.”

The game against the Skyhawks on Saturday was stopped twice due to weather, and after the second stoppage, the team switched fields and finished on Covington’s varsity diamond in an effort to try to keep closer to the schedule.

Despite the game being a pitcher’s duel, it took over three hours to complete. Neither Webb nor Ruhenkamp were rusty after either delay.

Against Milton-Union (10-12), Morgan Pleiman was 3 for 4 with 7 RBIs. She hit a grand slam in the first inning and ended it in the fifth with a bases-clearing double.

Pleiman left during the second weather delay against Milton-Union; Turner said she had to return home in order to attend her own graduation party.

Goubeaux was 3 for 4 against the Bulldogs. Laney Barhorst was 2 for 3 with one walk and Hoying was 2 or 4 with 4 RBIs.

Fort Loramie is scheduled to travel to Houston on Monday and will start postseason play by hosting Springfield Catholic Central on Tuesday. If victorious, the squad will host Troy Christian on Thursday.

The Redskins are scheduled to host Russia (12-9, 9-1 SCAL) on Friday in a game that could determine the SCAL title.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4822, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.