Kaitlyn Estes Goes Deep for Panthers, but Big Sixth Inning Lifts Tigers

Kaitlyn Estes went deep for Pattonsburg Tuesday evening, but a big sixth inning for Worth County put them over the top for an 11-7 win. 

At first, it was Tigers all the way, as they built up a 5-2 lead after two. But Pattonsburg got four in the third and one in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead. 

But Worth County has wiped out several deficits this year, and they came roaring back, getting six in the sixth inning to put away the Panthers. The Tigers were sparked after catcher Audrey Runde gunned down Jayden Goble, one of the top base-stealers in the area, after the Panthers had threatened to add on in the sixth. Four of Worth County's six runs in the sixth were with two out.

For Worth County, Kambree Briner had four hits. Kristen Tracy, Audrey Runde, and Braelyn Fletchall had two. Audrey Runde and Kambree Briner had two doubles and Kristen Tracy one. Kaydence Downing and Kristen Tracy stole bases. 

Kristen Tracy needed 133 pitches to get past the Panthers, but she struck out 10 batters. She threw 86 strikes. Addie Iddings tossed 100 pitches for 72 strikes in the loss.

For Pattonsburg, Vanessa Wieigand had three hits. Jayden Goble had two. Vanessa Weigand had two doubles. Jayden Goble had a triple, and Kaitlyn Estes had a home run. Rosalynn Cameron stole a base. 

Kristen Tracy, Kambree Briner Honored for 100th Hits, Tracy Honored for 200th Strikeout, Tigers Drop Bluejays for Second Straight

Kristen Tracy was honored for her 100th career hit Monday, as was teammate Kambree Briner. Tracy got her 100th career hit during the Albany Tournament, while Briner got hers during the otherwise forgettable Princeton game. Kristen Tracy was honored for her 200th career strikeout, which she got against Maryville after she came back from her ankle injury. 

Northeast Nodaway did all it could to spoil the party as Maddie Faustlin singled to right, and Paizlee Norman crushed a double to right center to put the Bluejays on top 1-0 in the first. Hayley Yost was plunked, and Brianna Meyer singled to right to load the bases. Norman came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

But the rest of the night belonged to the Tigers after Megan Tracy doubled to the wall in right to start their half of the first. Kambree Briner followed up by crushing her first-ever over the fence home run to tie it at 2-2. Kristen Tracy hit a bad-hop doubled to left, and Audrey Runde hit a double to right center to put Worth County on top 3-2. Braelyn Fletchall hit one as hard as she ever has in her life, but Piper Gray ran it down in center field for an out. Addison Gray reached second when a throw was wide of first and got away, scoring Runde to make it 4-2. Brooklyn Smith singled to center to score Gray to make it 5-2. Smith stole second, and Keira Hardy grounded out to advance her to third. Kaydence Downing, who swung away right-handed after trying her hand as a slap hitter earlier this year, batted right handed and singled to right, scoring Brooklyn to make it 6-2. Downing successfully stole second on a close play, barely diving under the tag. Megan Tracy doubled to the wall in right to score Downing to make it 7-2. Kambree Briner singled to center to score racy to make it 8-2. It would have been worse had not Bluejay left fielder Emma Vickers not come racing in to grab Kristen Tracy's pop fly for the third out.

Addison Gray hit one as hard as she has ever hit one, but Brianna Meyer snagged it in the second to rob her of extra bases.

Keira Hardy singled to lead off the third, bue Bluejay catcher Paizlee Norman gunned her down stealing. But Kaydence Downing beat out an infield hit to pick the Tigers up. Megan Tracy forced her at second. Kambree Briner reached second on a dropped fly ball as Megan Tracy, off on contact with two outs, scored from first to make it 9-2. Kristen Tracy singled to center to score Briner to make it 10-2.

Aubrey Fetters came home on a wild pitch in the Bluejay fourth to cut it to 10-3.

In the Worth County fourth, Braelin Fletchall singled to center. Addison Gray flied out and Brooklyn Smith popped out, but Keira Hardy beat out a slow roller to keep the inning going and put Fletchall on second. Kaydence Downing singled to center to make it 11-3.

In the Tiger fifth, Kambree Briner singled to lead off. Audrey Runde singled to center, and Braelyn Fletchall doubled to the wall in left to score Briner to make it 12-3. Addison Gray doubled to right center to score Runde to make it 13-3, and Worth County got to go home early.

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We believe Kristen Tracy is the second Tiger to pitch a perfect game. One of her coaches, Ashley (Dowis) Briner, pitched one in 1999 against North Nodaway. 

Kinley Fletchall and Daden Findley Combine for One No Hitter for Junior High Tigers; Kenzley Yost Tosses One for Bluejays; Coach Freemeyer Steps Down

Worth County and Northeast Nodaway's junior high softball teams split the A and the B games Monday night. The Tigers continued to rack up the wins with the A team, going undefeated with one game left on the table Thursday at Cameron. The Bluejays sent off Coach Jared Freemyer, who had coached the junior high squad for many years, off on a high note despite Monday's loss. He announced to the team after the games that he would be stepping down as the junior high softball coach. He will continue to teach government at Northeast Nodaway. 

Kinley Fletchall survived a close call in the first inning when Bexlie Busby's screamer landed just foul past first base in the first inning. Busby walked, and Eryn O'Connell was plunked. They took second and third on a wild pitch. But Aubrey Wilmes grounded out to end the threat.

Fletchall walked to start the Tiger first, and Gwyn Healy hit a towering fly ball that Quin Oelze caught in center field for the first out. But Renae Gladstone crushed a triple to the left field wall to score Fletchall to make it 1-0 Gladstone came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

Kinley Fletchall walked the first two batters in the Bluejay second, but struck out the next two and got Ellie Jackson to ground out to get out of the inning.

With one out in the Tiger second, Keylee Smith doubled off the wall in left and took third on a wild pitch. Hadley Downing walked and stole second. Ilene Combs hit one hard, but right at the first baseman for the first out. Smith scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Kinley Fletchall singled, and the ball got away as she took second and Downing scored. Gwyn Healy hit a seeing-eye single to left to score Fletchall. Renae Gladstone doubled off the wall in center to score Healy to make it 6-0.

The Bluejays nearly got to Fletchall in the third inning, but Aubrey Wilmes narrowly missed extra bases with a carbon copy of Busby's hit before getting jammed and hitting a soft liner to first.

Fletchall fought the strike zone in the fourth inning, and Daden Findley walked in one run and hit a batter to force in another, but got the next two batters out to get out of the inning to preserve both the no-hitter and the victory.

The B game was a totally different story as Kenzley Yost mowed down Tiger batters right and left, striking out seven in three innings of work and the Bluejays scored three in the second and three in the third for the 6-0 win. It would have been worse, but Tiger third baseman Ilene Combs doubled a runner off first in the first inning after catching a screamer and threw home for a forceout in the third. Kacy O'Connell and Emma Wilmes provided the big blows for the Bluejays in the third inning. 

After the game, the Tigers recognized eighth graders Kaeslyn Briner, Jolee Hauber, Kinley Fletchall, Renae Gladstone, Ilene Combs, and Gabbey Maudlin. 

Addison Milligan Carries Shamrocks to 9-5 Win

Addison Miligan carried North Harrison to its second win, a 9-5 win over Hamilton Monday, September 21st. Milligan had two doubles and four RBI's in the win and scored one run herself.

The game took on all of the intensity of previous battles between the Shamrocks and the Hornets in 2017 and 2020, when they were two of the top softball teams in the area. North Harrison played errorless ball in the win, while Hamilton only committed one.

Besides Milligan, Ava Rinehart had three hits, Lani Briggs two, Hali Smith two, and Raegan Hogan two. Ava Rinehart and Raegan Hogan also had doubles. Hali Smith had a triple. Addison Milligan, Ava Rinehart, and Lani Briggs had steals. Ava Rinehart threw a runner out stealing.

North Harrison scored two in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth, and three in the seventh for the win. 

Ava Rinehart Drives In Four as Shamrocks Win Third

Ava Rinehart drove in four runs as North Harrison beat Mercer 15-4 Monday to post its third win of the season. She had a double and a triple in the outburst, scored three runs, and stole a base. 

Lani Briggs had three hits for the Shamrocks. Hali Smith, Raegan Hogan, Kathryn Parkhurst, and Becca Welling all had two. Addison Milligan had two steals and Lani Briggs one. 

Hali Smith pitched all seven innings, giving up three walks, six hits, and striking out 11. Her team played solidly behind her, only committing one error.

North Harrison scored one in the first, one in the second, and five in the third to build up a 7-0 lead. Mercer got on the board in the fourth to make it 7-1. North Harrison plated one in the fifth, but Mercer answered with three in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-4. North Harrison added on in the late innings, getting two in the sixth and five in the seventh to seal the win. All five runs in the seventh came with two out. 

Fall Forum Seeks to Reverse Worth County Population Decline

A fall forum will be held Monday, October 26th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Grant City Golf Clubhouse. Discussion will be held on ways to reverse the county's population decline, which has been ongoing since 1900, when the population was at around 9,600. 

The discussion will include findings from the recent Maximize Northwest Missouri survey, which focused on why people choose to stay, why people choose to leave, and why people choose to return to Northwest Missouri. 

Hosted by Worth County Extension and Maximize Northwest Missouri, the forum will give participants an opportunity to review local data, share experiences, and help identify priorities for future community action. 

The forum is free and open to the public. 

Hopkins Council Hires Maintenance Worker, Proceeds on Condemnation

The Hopkins City Council, at their meeting Monday, voted to hire Paul Drudge for a part-time laborer for $15 an hour for $30 per week. They will consider promoting him to full time and giving him a raise in Spring. The vote was unanimous.

The city is proceeding with condemnation of the trailer located next to Rick's Country Shoppe. The city received a letter from Jim Wiederholt stating the trailer in question had been inspected by him and tagged as unlivable. The letter gave a list of corrections to be made within 30 days, or the structure will be demolished. All repairs or demolition must proceed continuously without unnecessary delay and be completed within 60 days of receipt, but no later than December 10th.

Chris Bird reported he will have to rent a lift to finish trimming the trees, since the one previously borrowed will not be available for a while. 

Deena Poynter gave an update on what she has gotten completed along with what still needs to be done on an infrastructure grant along with a demolition grant. 

The city received an email from attorney Taryn Henry stating she would need copies of each complaint of property along with pictures in order to move further after a letter is sent from the city with length of time to correct violations. Discussion was also held on what it would take to get delinquent bill liens placed on property tax bills to be collected at the time of tax payment instead of when property is sold.

Makayla Crater and Megan Hersh presented plans to the council for wanting to have a street dance at some point. Discussion was held on drafting a resolution similar to the Hopkins Picnic. The council repealed an ordinance from 1924 that prohibited students of North Nodaway from attending dances in public from the start of school to the end of school.

Chris Bird presented the council with the need of a second city truck. He found a 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 HD with a dump bed already installed for $26,900. The city will pursue more information.

Megan Hersh and Makayla Crater presented plans to have a trunk or treat event on October 31st. It will include hay rides, a bonfire, outdoor games, and an outdoor movie. It would be located on Third Street and be held at the Community Building in the event of inclement weather. The council voted to draft a resolution for the event.

The city received three complaints. The first was from residents with a hole in their yard from where the sewer on the city's side of the line had been fixed, but the hole had never been covered. The city will get it fixed within the next few weeks. The second complaint was regarding dogs not on leashes and attacking their dog. The city will send a letter of violation. The third was regarding a dog getting into the trash. The city took no action, as they did not have enough information.