Grace Schottel threw a one hitter Thursday afternoon before the varsity game as Worth County shut down Northeast Nodaway 11-0. The softball team has been on an offensive tear of late and the rise of Grace will give Worth County something to look forward to two years from now; the scary thing about her performance is that she is only in seventh grade. She already showed the athletic ability last year; as a sixth grader at the Elementary Track Meet, she rewrote the record book and had a near-varsity level 6:31 in the mile. She also showed her versatility by winning the 400 and 100 that morning; she showed her stamina by getting stronger as the game progressed and then playing a full-fledged game of pickup basketball afterwards along with some of her softball friends.
Like her older sister Haven, Grace showed that she was dangerous on the basepaths once she got on; she walked to lead off the game and then stole second and third. Sidney Troutwine then singled her home as she beat out the throw from short. She then stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch. Jarisa Moffat later scored on a wild pitch and Kristin Ross scored on a dropped third strike as Payton Adwell scored. Grace Schottel continued to run wild on the basepaths in the second, accounting for Worth County's tally in that frame to make it 5-0. With one one, she walked and stole second and Sidney Troutwine hit a grounder to the mound. She was out, but Grace scored all the way from second on the play and made it standing up.
Northeast finally started getting some good swings off of Grace, but Victoria Moore showed some promise in center, making a nice running catch to stop anything from getting started. Northeast got their lone two baserunners off Grace with a hit and a walk in the third, but that was when Grace really turned on the gas and shut them down, getting a groundout and consecutive strikeouts to end the lone Northeast threat of the day.
Once again, Grace manufactured a run for the Tigers as she led off the fourth with a walk, stole second and third, and then scored on a ball that barely got away from the catcher. It was the sort of daredevil baserunning that former Worth County standout Renae Miller used to show all the time along with Tiffany Troutwine, Kayna Wake, and Grace's coach April Miller Healy, all of whom rewrote the softball recordbook. That play seemed to open up the floodgates as the team would steal seven bases in the inning and plate six runs. The stolen bases meant that it only took one hit to score a run. Sidney Troutwine, Quinci Schottel, Payton Adwell, and Brooklyn White all scored on wild pitches while Payton Adwell singled in a run to round out the scoring for the Tigers. Grace finished strong on the mound, striking out two in the final inning and catching a pop fly; she struck out six and four in the last two innings.
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