North Harrison began its quest for a repeat trip to state with an 11-1 drubbing of Northeast Nodaway Friday. NEN, which won seven games last year, showed some improvement. But North Harrison managed to score in every inning as they ended the game in the sixth on the run rule. The Shamrocks did not win it by timing and crushing it; they hit a top of pop flies that would drop just out of reach of Northeast’s fielders. Northeast had a chance to get back in the game in the fourth inning, but could not capitalize on it.
The Shamrocks only got one solid hit in the first inning, but got three runs out of it. With one out, Rainey Fordyce walked and Emma Craig’s pop fly dropped just in front of right fielder Delainey McIntyre to put runners on first and third. Kami Gibson’s pop fly to right dropped in before anyone could get to it, and Craig scored and Kami took second as the cutoff throw got away. Mason Cracraft got the one solid hit in the inning as two runs scored. It would have been worse, but NEN second baseman Cassy Redden made an over the shoulder catch of Addie Slaughter’s pop fly and Camden Castleberry grounded into a force at third as North Harrison took a 3-0 lead.
The Shamrocks manufactured another run in the second without the benefit of a ball leaving the infield. With runners on second and third, Emma Craig bunted one in the air just out of everyone’s reach and everyone was safe as a run scored to make it 4-0. North Harrison added to its lead again in the third as Deva Wallace singled to lead off. With one out, Camden Castleberry hit what looked like a routine grounder to Anne Schieber at third, but her airmailed throw meant three bases thanks to the long right field line at North Harrison and Wallace scored.
Ashlynn Gilpatrick started for North Harrison and worked three perfect innings, but she ran into trouble in the fourth. Makayla Adwell worked a 3-2 count and walked and took second as catcher Kami Gibson’s errant pickoff throw got away. Maggie Schmitz singled down the right field line to score Adwell and took second when the throw went home in an unsuccessful attempt to retire her. Paige West worked a 3-2 count and walked. Anne Schieber and Blair Stoll flied out, but Delainey McIntyre walked after falling behind 1-2 to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate with Northeast down 5-1. But Cassy Redden grounded out as North Harrison got out of the inning.
North Harrison used a two out rally to score in the bottom of the fourth. Ashlyn Gilpatrick got a well-hit ball into right center field, but centerfielder Maggie Schmitz came on the dead run and caught it for the first out. Rainey Fordyce grounded out, but Emma Craig beat out a squib down the third base line to keep North Harrison going. Kami Gibson walked, but NEN didn’t realize the pitch was ball four and tried to throw Craig out stealing, threw it away, and Craig came home to score and make it 6-1.
North Harrison loaded the bases with nobody out and proceeded to break it open in the fifth inning. Kenna Slaughter hit a pop fly single just past Paige West at short and Addie Slaughter singled solidly to center. They moved up on a wild pitch, and Camden Castleberry’s pop fly dropped in safely for yet another scratch hit as Slaughter scored. Kylie Pottorff struck out, but Ashlynn Gilpatrick got one of North Harrison’s few solid hits, a screamer into the left center field gap to score two. Rainey Fordyce walked; Emma Craig lined it hard, but right at pitcher Maggie Schmitz for the second out. But Kami Gibson reached on an error as Lola Brashears (running for Gilpatrick) scored to make it 10-1. Kylie Pottorff singled home Kenna Slaughter in the sixth to finally end it.
North Harrison got 11 hits in the game, and only five of them were of the really solid variety. The rest were all weak pop flies and grounders that landed just out of the reach of everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment