Cardinals Crush Tigers in Fifth Inning Outburst

Worth County had every reason to expect a victory when the Tigers and North Andrew Cardinals played each other Monday in a makeup conference game. North Andrew was coming off a 17-0 loss in three innings to North Nodaway, while Worth County was on its first winning streak of the year, having gotten consolation at North Andrew over the weekend. North Andrew came into the game with a 3-11 record.

But all hell broke loose in the fifth inning as North Andrew wiped out a 3-2 Worth County lead and cruised to the 9-3 win Monday night. North Andrew was timing and crushing the ball all night, getting ten hits, and they got the benefit of four Tiger errors. Worth County was hitting the ball hard all night, but right at people.

It couldn’t have started any better for Worth County as they got out of the first inning when Megan Cassavaugh threw out Makenna Goldizen stealing and proceeded to lead off the bottom of the inning with a double. She went to third on a passed ball. Braidy Hunt struck out, but Kennedy Galanakis grounded to pitcher Emma Tipton. Cassavaugh was caught between third and home, but Tipton, after hesitating, threw wildly to first and Cassavaugh scored. Haley Hunt popped out, but Galanakis went to second on a wild pitch and Anna Gladstone singled her home to make it 2-0.

North Andrew got one run back in the third when Jentry Copple doubled home Emma Tipton and tied it in the fourth when Worth County fell asleep after Mercedes Todd singled Carlie Grace to third. While returning the ball to the pitcher, nobody paid any attention to Todd or covered second base, and she broke for second. She was out, but Grace broke for home and made it to tie the game at 2-2.

Worth County broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth when Jill Hardy singled to center. Merrideth Spiers forced Hardy at second, and Allison Larison forced Spiers at second, but Larison made it to second on a wild pitch and Abbi Caddenhead walked. Megan Cassavaugh singled home Larison to make it 3-2.

But then North Andrew’s #9 hitter, Emalee Pittman, doubled down the line in right to start off the North Andrew fifth and two more hits, two errors, a walk, and a wild pitch later, the Cardinals were in front 7-3. They tacked on two more in the sixth as Worth County saw their last nine batters retired despite hitting a lot of balls hard.