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SOUTHMONT SOFTBALL SECTIONAL: Eagles win the long ball battle over Mounties, advance to face Wolves Tuesday
NEW MARKET — There was a MLB commercial in the 1990’s that said, ‘Chicks dig the long ball’.
The young ladies at Southmont on Monday night hit the long ball.
Southmont and South Putnam combined for four home runs and the Eagles had two shots off of the top of the fence as the Eagles advanced with a 9-5 win IHSAA Softball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 play.
The Eagles played a well-rounded game as they committed only one error, gave up only five hits and produced 12 hits on their end. The victory improved the Eagles record to 12-12, while the Mounties season came to a conclusion at 8-15. South will play Parke Heritage on Tuesday night in the second semifinal round.
“Whenever someone is struggling, we always have someone step up. Overall, our team effort was tremendous,” South Putnam head coach Kenny Wells said.
Southmont would strike first to open the game. Anna Stokes would lead off with a walk and move around the diamond with a stolen base and a fielder’s choice before Kyndale Rice drove her home with a single and a 1-0 lead after just a half inning.
The Eagles answered quickly. Braylin Boruff drew a base on balls to open the bottom of the inning and a double by Lilah Holderfield would bring her home.
Joscelyn Pilcher would pinch run for Holderfield and score on an error by the Mounties. Alyssa Pingleton, who reached on the error, would cross the plate on an Emelia Wells single as the Eagles would take a 3-1 lead and would never trail again.
The Mounties cut the lead in the top of the second as Kenzie Clate went yard with a solo home run and the Eagle lead was only 3-2.
The Eagle offense came to life with two outs in the third inning. Danae Cline started the scoring with a solo home run. Jaicee Jackson would single, Peyton Freeman was hit by a pitch and Madison Carpenter brought them home with a double.
Boruff would then smack a double of her own to score Carpenter as the Eagles led 7-2.
“Danae is someone I can always count on, she struggled with her hitting earlier in the season and has brought it back. She is so solid for us,” Wells said of the junior who not only went 2-for-4 with a home run but made a diving catch at second base and running catch as a centerfielder.
Southmont would get a pair of two-out runners on base via walks in the top of the fifth inning. That would set up Catie Himes for a big three-run home run to cut into the Eagle lead. South would head to the bottom of the fifth ahead 7-5.
The Eagles would answer as Boruff, who ended the Mountie threat in the top half of the inning as a relief pitcher, would answer the Mounties by drilling a two-run shot, scoring Peyton Freeman who walked, to boost the lead back up to 9-5.
South would hold on as they would shut out the Mounties in the sixth and seventh innings to advance in the tournament.
“We challenged this team to not make the one or two mistakes that can lead to losing games. I believe this team is really good defensively over the last six games or so,” Wells said as the Eagles only committed one error on the night.
Wells and Boruff limited the Mounties to just five hits as their runs were produced with two home runs and walks that put runners on base.
South’s offense was led by Boruff who went 3-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Cline and Holderfield each had multi-hit games as well.
Southmont 110 030 0 — 5 5 1
South Putnam 304 020 X — 9 12 1
WP – Wells 4.2, Boruff 2.1. LP Rice 2.2, Crosby 3.1
2B – Burge, Holderfield, Boruff, Carpenter (SP)
HR – Himes, Clate (SHS), Cline, Boruff (SP)
RBI – Himes 3, Rice, Clate (SHS), Boruff 3, Carpenter 2, Cline, Wells, Holderfield (SP).