Junior High Tigers Beat NEN in Pitching Duel Between Brooklyn Richardson, Hadley DeFreece

Worth County’s Junior High Tigers prevailed in a 4-0 pitching duel over Northeast Nodaway and Hadley DeFreece Monday. The Bluejays had been solid all year, finishing a 12-2 record and winning the Stanberry Tournament, the first time in recent memory that a Bluejay softball team has won a tournament, a result far beyond anyone’s expectations. They even won a couple of games when they played with eight players. Worth County, under the guidance of Cody Green, carved out two winning seasons and has broken out to an 8-1 start this year. “This was the best pitcher we have seen all year,” said Green to his charges after the game. “You all came up big when you had to.” 

For the first three and a half innings, the game was a pitching duel between Brooklyn Richardson and Hadley DeFreece, with both striking out even the good hitters. Richardson had nine through four innings of work, while DeFreece struck out seven through three innings. The baserunners were few and far in between; the first one for either side came when DeFreece reached on an error and stole second, but was stranded in the third. Rylee Ruckman reached for the Tigers in the bottom of the inning to lead off, but DeFreece got two strikeouts and a groundout to get out of the inning.

Finally, Katie Fletchall singled just past second with one out in the Tiger fourth and took second on a wild pitch. Brylee Rush struck out, but then Riley Ridge doubled to right center to score Fletchall. The bottom of the Tiger order came up big for Worth County as Eliza Corey, who had hit it hard all year for the Tigers but right at people, finally had one drop in for a base hit as Ridge scored. Corey caught everyone by surprise and stole second, and then the ninth hitter, Rylee Ruckman, doubled her home. She stole third and came home on a throwing error for the fourth run.

Gracie Kohlleppel broke up Richardson’s no-hit bid in the fifth when her pop fly dropped in just fair and rolled away for a base hit, but she was thrown out trying for second. Sasha Deardorff walked, stole second, and went to third on a throwing error, but Richardson struck out her 10th and 11th batters to finish with a masterful one-hit shutout.