Macie Shirk carried Southmont softball to a key 4-3 Sagamore Conference win at Western Boone on Tuesday night.
The junior drove in all four runs, including a two-run double and two-run home run. She also pitched a complete game, scattering nine hits, walking two and striking out three.
And Southmont’s defense was perfect behind her.
“I think she was a little more comfortable throwing to contact,” Southmont coach Dan Taylor said. “And on a night like this where it looked early like our defense was going to back her up. Abbey Gass, Natalie Manion, and Chelsea Veatch, several good plays up the middle. We were really good up the middle and then Taylor Grino and our outfielders. I thought our defense was outstanding.”
The Mounties (14-8, 7-6 SAC) took the lead right off the bat. Hanna Nichols led the game off with a single, Talyor Grino walked and Shirk drove them in with a double. Grino tripled in the third and then scored on Shirk’s long ball to make it 4-0 Southmont.
“We had an idea of what we wanted to do, and I don’t know what their game plan was, but you could see that Hannah (Redlin) adjusted and made a good adjustment against us and then our girls made an adjustment back,” Taylor said about WeBo’s ace pitcher. “We tought she approached us differently the second and third time through the order, but I thought our hitters hung in there and made the adjustments they needed to make.”
Redlin struck-out 10 Mounties, allowing eight hits and walking three.
Southmont had three hits in the sixth, but a double-play kept a run from scoring.
Gabby Lewis led off the last half of the fourth with a hit and later scored on an Emma Shirley double to get the Stars (14-10, 8-4 SAC) on the board.
Western Boone threatened in the seventh with a two-run home run from Mya Fisher, but Shirk shut the door with a groundout to end the game.
“I think it confirms some things we thought,” Taylor said. “And we feel like if we play hard, we are hard to beat. And I think that’s what we took away from tonight.”
The Mounties host the Stars tonight at 5:30 p.m.
