Softball begins season with dominating win over Gophers
Southmont softball got its 2022 season off to a fantastic start Monday evening as the Mounties traveled to Clinton Prairie and used a combination of great speed, plate discipline and pitching to down the Gophers 19-2 in five innings.
The Mounties drew 11 total walks in the game and stole 13 bases while collecting eight hits. The night was highlighted by Hanna Nichols’s inside the park grand slam in the top of the fourth that capped off a nine run inning for Southmont. Elizabeth Conkright led the team with two hits and also drove in three runs. She added to her night by recording a steal of home. Seven different Mounties combined for their eight hits as they were able to play everyone on the varsity roster.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had one of those,” Southmont coach Dan Taylor said with a chuckle referring to Nichols’ grand slam. “We just wanted to come out and play some good softball. Hanna, Chelsea Veatch, and Elizabeth set the tone at the plate. Our girls showed that they were going to play hard and I was really happy with being able to get every single girl a chance to play. We feel like we’re a lot deeper than we have been in a long time. Being able to substitute and feel like there wasn’t much change was the best part for me.”
Macie Shirk picked up the win on the mound for the Mounties as she pitched four innings and gave up just a single hit and no earned runs. She also struck out seven in the win. Kyndale Rice came in for the final three outs to seal the Mountie victory.
In stealing 13 total bases, Southmont was able to have runners in scoring position in almost every inning. Conkright, Veatch and Lillie Odum all stole two bags for Southmont. Coming off of a season where they led the Sagamore Conference with 112 stolen bases, the Mounties look poised to post a similar number again this year.
“It’s a very big par of what we do,” Taylor said. “If we can extend that runner and get them into scoring position, they can usually then score on a single. Our girls did a great job of running against a catcher with a really good arm. Macie also pitched a great game in the circle and I was glad to see Kyndale come in to get those final three outs for us.”
The 1-0 Mounties were scheduled to play Attica yesterday but that game was postponed due to rain. They will now hit the road again on Saturday afternoon for a 11 a.m. first pitch against Eminence.
Baseball falls on walk off hit to Wolves
It was a sectional re-match to open up the 2022 season for the Mountie baseball teams as they traveled to Parke Heritage for battle with the Wolves. These two teams met up in last year’s sectional with the Wolves ending the Mounties season with an 8-3 victory.
This time the game would come down to the last at-bat as the Mounties and Wolves were all tied at 9-9 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Southmont had scored four runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 8-8. The Wolves took got back in front with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but the Mounties came right back to tie the game in the top of the seventh. With the Wolves down to their last strike, Brendan McAmis singled home the game-winning run for Parke Heritage as the Mounties fell in their season opener 10-9.
The Mounties were able to get on the board first as Carson McKinney singled home Adam Cox. McKinney would lead the Mounties with a pair of hits and two RBI’s. Both Cox and Brayden McCloud scored a pair of Mountie runs. In total the Mounties would tally eight hits and be able to capitalize off five error by the Wolves.
While Southmont used the Wolves errors to their advantage, Parke Heritage would do the same thing as the Mounties committed six errors in the loss.
"That's the one thing I was a dissappointed in was our defense," Southmont coach Brad Wininger said. "Besides that I was really happy with how we played. We're a year older and the guys really hit the ball well."
Cox began the game on the mound for Southmont and pitch four innings while allowing eight runs, just four of them earned while striking out seven. Brennen Thornburg allowed the game-winning hit and was credited with the loss.
Like the softball team, the Mounties were scheduled to have their home opener yesterday against Covington, but it was postponed. They will return to action on Thursday when they travel to North Putnam before taking on Clinton Prairie on Friday.
