NEW MARKET – The four Southmont softball seniors made sure their Senior Night was a success as they led the Mounties to a 14-4 win over Crawfordsville.
The win is the sixth in a row for South. They move to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the Sagamore Conference. The win also gives them another step towards a county title and a point in the County Chase. It is also the 34th consecutive win for the Mounties over their foes in the county.
The Athenians fall to 0-12 overall and 0-6 in the league.
The four South seniors, Chelsea veatch, Dara Watson, Kalli Todd and Brady Spencer, had their fingerprints all over the win.
“It’s been a while since we have won a Senior Night game,” Mounties coach Dan Taylor said. “All four of our seniors contributed greatly to this win. They have been with our program for four years, and have been doing all the things you expect seniors to do. I’m really happy for them, and for our team on winning out sixth in a row. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins – I think we were a little excited at the start of the game, but we got some timely hits, and Kyndale (Rice) pitched a great game again.”
Veatch reached base three times and scored twice. Watson, who has been on a hitting tear with four home runs in her last three games, and has raised her batting average 330 points in a week, had three hits, including a double. The catcher drove in three runs, moving her total to a team-best 21. Spencer reached base three times, scored one and drove one in, and Todd got on base once and scored.
The Mounties scored in all four at-bats, pushing four across in the first, one in the second, two in the third and seven in the fourth. Lead-off hitter Anna Stokes also had three hits, including a double, scored three times and drove in a pair. Jenna Grino and Kami Dinius also had two hits each.
Rice picked up her sixth win on the mound, scattering five hits. Two of the four runs the sophomore allowed were earned as the Mounties had four errors on the night. Rice didn’t walk any and struck out two.
“She (Rice) has done some self-diagnosis and made some adjustments,” Taylor said of his pitcher, who threw 66 pitches to pick up the win. “She has gotten command of her change-up, she has gotten mentally tougher. She has always been a real competitor. She has just put the team on her shoulders. Her ERA has been great during the streak and she is just going to get better and better. She works so hard.”
The Athenians, a much-improved team since the start of the season, had several real positives to build on, starting with only two errors defensively.
“We hit a lot of balls hard, just right at them, right at people” noted Cville coach Mackenzi Landrum. “We played well as a team, we are playing selfless as a team, which is so good, and the girls are putting in the work and effort. This team is really improving, and they are fun to watch as they improve.”
The Athenians got three runs in the fourth and their last in the fifth.
Bailey Crane singled and scored, Brooklyn Mills also reached base and scored, and Lilyann Bridgham reached on an error and scored. Molly Pierce had a two-RBI double.
In the fifth, Celeste Moore doubled and scored on a single by Crane.
Pierce pitched for the Athenians, walking four and striking out one.
“It’s her first season pitching – period,” said Landrum. “She has adapted well as the season has gone on. She is hitting her spots more and her defense is getting so much better behind her.”
The two foes square off Wednesday at Crawfordsville.
“We need to keep our confidence in the batters box and play loose,” said Landrum.
“Crawfordsville is a much-improved team,” Taylor said. “They made us earn our runs tonight, and I know they will be confident and tough at their place Wednesday. We are going to have to play a cleaner game defensively and be ready from the first pitch.”
The game is scheduled for a 5:30 start.
