North Harrison’s JV Shamrocks won the HDC Tournament Saturday afternoon, overcoming 90 degree heat as well as a pesky Tri-County squad that had gone the distance against the varsity in the previous week. The varsity only had seven runs for the game, but the JV showed them how it was done, thriving in the heat and crushing the ball on their way to a five inning 12-2 win. The future for Shamrock Softball is bright, especially with junior high standouts Trendi Johnson (7 for 7 in two games) and Jayleigh Robins (hit a home run over the fence) coming up, and pitching standout Carly Rinehart having two more years under her belt if she stays healthy.
Tri-County came in bound and determined to break North Harrison’s stranglehold on the HDC; the Shamrocks won with their JV last year as well. They crushed Gilman City on their way to the finals and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead Jadan Almond got a scratch hit into the hole at short that Deva Wallace got to but didn’t have a play on. Almond stole second, but North Harrison nearly got out of the inning as Anissa Williams grounded out to Addie Slaughter at second and Carly Rinehart brought some high heat to strike out Destiny Gutshall. But then Tanna Courter shot a single up the middle to score Almond and took second on a passed ball. Carly Turner doubled to left field, stretching a single into a double as Courter scored to make it 2-0.
Frequently, a team which jumps out on top in a sweltering day like Saturday has a big advantage, but North Harrison got one run back as third baseman Turner misplayed Carly Rinehart’s grounder for an error and Rinehart went to second on a wild pitch, to third on Deva Wallace’s groundout, and scored on another wild pitch to make it 2-1. It looked like the North Nodaway game might repeat itself at one point as Sally Briggs was hit, but Kaylee Hilburn (running for Briggs) successfully stole second, tried to go to third on an overthrow, but was erased. In that game, five Shamrocks were thrown out at either third or home in their 10-8 loss.
But North Harrison had a 1-2-3 second. With one out, Baily Briggs shot a single to left and went to second when it went under the left fielder’s legs. Lola Brashears reached when her pop fly dropped in for a base hit. Briggs held up to make sure it wasn’t caught, took off for third when the ball dropped in, and made it as Brashears took second. Kenna Slaughter singled home a run to tie it, but it looked like Tri-County would get out of the inning after Kylie Pottorff tapped one in front of the plate and was thrown out at first. But then disaster struck as Rinehart grounded to Turner at third for what should have been the third out. But her throw was wild and two runs scored and Carly took off for second. Tri-County threw it away, allowing her to circle the bases to make it 5-2. The carnage wasn’t over as Deva Wallace walked. She wandered too far off first, got picked off by the catcher, took off for second, and made it. Sally Briggs hit a high chopper past second for a base hit for North Harrison’s fifth tun to make it 6-2.
From that point on, North Harrison made some critical catches in the field to keep Tri-County off the board. After Tri-County had been no-hit by Rinehart in an earlier game, they hit her better this time, but she had plenty of support in the field. The communication was much better, as people were calling pop flies rather than waiting for someone else to take charge; that was an issue in the North Nodaway game. In the third, Almond tried to get Tri-County going again, but left fielder Lola Brashears made a running shoestring catch to take a base hit away from her.
There were two tough plays in the fifth after right fielder Kylie Pottorff caught Makayla George’s fly ball to start the fifth. Kiera Huskey hit a slow roller down the first base line that looked like trouble, but Carly Rinehart hustled off the mound, grabbed the ball, and tagged her going by to take a scratch hit away. Taegan Dunks came in as a pinch hitter for Tri-County and hit a screamer down the right field line. But Pottorff was there for the catch to take extra bases away from her.
Rinehart was visibly tiring in the 92 degree heat, but North Harrison scored six in the fifth to make sure she didn’t have to come out again in the sixth. Sally Briggs grounded out, but Addie Slaughter reached on a bobble by the shortstop and Hunter Stevens shot a double past the shortstop that split the gap and put runners on second and third. Baily Briggs was hit by a pitch and was so startled, she did a karaoke move afterwards. Lola Brashears hit a pop fly single behind third that scored one to make it 7-2. Kenna Slaughter hit a pop fly that the pitcher raced off the mound and snagged for the second out. But then Kylie Pottorff hit a shot off the pitcher so hard, she was shaken up as the catcher had to go get it as a run scored and everybody was safe. That made it 8-2. Carli Rinehart was up next, and she reached on an error when the third baseman’s throw was wide, and she made it to second as two runs scored. Deva Wallace got a solid single to right to score two as Rinehart made it safely from second to end the game.
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