Tiger Softball Snaps Skid with 9-1 Win

Both teams had something to build on after Monday night’s game. Worth County rode much more aggressive baserunning, routinely stretching singles into doubles to a big lead and got the win.
Northeast Nodaway had not won a game all year, but they were able to play a full game, making many outstanding defensive plays in the field to do so. Worth County is having their most successful season in years, but were battling a three game losing streak, while NEN was looking to play a full game, which they did for just the third time all year.

Megan Cassavaugh stretched a single into a double in the first to set the tone; Anna Gladstone hit a shot off second baseman Maribeth Lamb’s glove and stretched it into a double as well as Megan crossed the plate for the first time. Aivry Griffin popped out trying to bunt, but Anna Gladstone pulled off a successful delayed steal of third and Merrideth Spiers walked and stole second. Jill Hardy stretched a single into a double down the right field line as two runs scored, while Merrideth Spiers hit a double into the right field gap to make it 4-0. EmiLee Brown grounded out to advance Spiers, and Hailey Adwell hit a squib between the mound and third that dropped in that she beat out for a hit as Spiers crossed the plate to make it 5-0. Morgan Beagle stretched yet another single into a double to make it 6-0 as Adwell scored. Worth County stretched three singles into doubles that inning.

NEN got a run back in the second when Maribeth Lamb got hit by a pitch from Braidy Hunt. She struck out Kirsten Morrow and Kami Adwell, but walked Lauren McIntyre and Jaden Atkins. But the difference between Monday’s game and the Princeton game was that Hunt was able to work out of walks, and she got a couple of key defensive plays from Megan Cassavaugh behind the plate. Rachelle Rodriguez singled to score Lamb, but Cassavaugh picked off Atkins, who tried to take an occupied third base and couldn’t get back to second in time. She was tagged out before McIntyre could cross home plate, and Worth County limited the damage to one run.

Worth County got going again offensively as Anna Spainhower caught hold of one and hit it all the way to the center field wall 270 feet away and circled the bases to make it 7-1. With one out, Hailey Adwell restarted the Tigers when she tapped one in front of the plate and beat it out for her second scratch hit and took second on a wild pitch. Morgan Beagle stretched a single into a double as Adwell scored and Megan Cassavaugh singled to center and took second when the throw got away from the cutoff. Anna Gladstone safely reached first on a dropped third strike, and Aivry Griffin grounded out to bring in a run to make it 9-1.

Worth County got into a jam in the NEN third, as Anne Schieber beat out an infield hit and Angela Standiford was hit by a pitch. Delaney McIntyre struck out, but Maribeth Lamb walked to load the bases with one out. But Braidy Hunt got out by striking out Kirsten Morrow and Kami Adwell, which seemed to settle her down for the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, Worth County hit it hard the rest of the night, but right at people. In the fourth, shortstop Cassy Redden snagged Jill Hardy’s sharp grounder on a back hand and threw her out; Delaney McIntyre snagged EmiLee Brown’s hard grounder at third. In the fifth, McIntyre robbed Morgan Beagle of a base hit, while Redden snagged Megan Cassavaugh’s line drive.

Anne Schieber hit one into the gap for a double to start off the Bluejay fifth and took third on a wild pitch. Angela Standiford walked and stole second, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. But once again, Worth County got out of the jam when Hunt struck out the next two and Megan Cassavaugh tagged out Schieber trying to score on a wild pitch.

With runners on second and third and two outs, EmiLee Brown hit a hard shot in the sixth, but right at Schieber, who knocked it down and threw to first to deny the Tigers again. Kami Adwell got a solid single to center with one out in the sixth, but Hunt struck out Lauren McIntyre and Jaden Atkins grounded out. In the seventh, it was Worth County’s turn to deny the Bluejays a chance to rally as Merrideth Spiers fielded Anne Schieber’s hard shot cleanly and Worth County worked a 1-2-3 inning.