Jaden Atkins, Baylie Busby Go Deep as Bluejays Win 10-5

Northeast Nodaway’s girls picked up right where they left off from last year, and this time they didn’t need nine innings as they put North Harrison away 10-5 Friday. Last year, Northeast had beaten North Harrison 10-9 in nine innings to end a 13 year losing streak to the Shamrocks.

The Bluejays struck first as Hadley DeFreece got a bunt down the third base line for a base hit and two Shamrock errors put Northeast on the board up 2-0.

North Harrison threatened to strike back as Jayliegh Robins walked and Ruby Heintz singled to right field with one out. Jaci Davis struck out, but Jayliegh and Jaci pulled off a perfect delayed double steal, with Robins somehow getting under Mylee Wilmes’ tag at third. But Hadley DeFreece struck out Katelyn Briggs for the third out. 

With one out in the Bluejay second, Makenzie Pride showed some wheels and beat out an infield hit, and that hustle play sparked another rally. Mylee Wilmes hit a seeing eye single that somehow got just under pitcher Erica Gerken’s glove and somehow just got past Ruby Heintz’s glove, and Baylie Busby singled in Pride and put Wilmes on third. Busby stole second. Hadley DeFreece bunted, but Shamrock pitcher Erica Gerken cut down Wilmes at the plate as Hadley took first and Busby third. Jill Boswell hit a pop fly to left center field that three different Shamrocks gave chase to, but it fell between them for a pop fly double as two runs scored to make it 5-0.

But after North Harrison got out of a bases loaded jam in the third, they realized they could play ball with Northeast and they bunched up three straight singles. Trendi Johnson shot one past second, Jayliegh Robins hit a shot into left field, and Bluejay left fielder Merrideth Adwell made a great stop to keep it from being extra bases. Ruby Heintz beat out a squib in front of the plate to load the bases. Jaci Davis struck out, but Katelyn Briggs hit a pop fly that landed behind second for a base hit as the Shamrocks got one run back to make it 5-1. North Harrison had the tying run at the plate with one out, but Hadley DeFreece settled down and struck out Amber Wilson and Kira Robertson with the high heat.

The heart of Northeast’s order was coming up, but Shamrock center fielder Kira Robertson ran down Jill Boswell’s Texas Leaguer and pitcher Erica Gerken shot a laser beam to first on Hadley DeFreece’s tricky grounder. North Harrison got two runs back in the fourth after Andi Nail reached on an error and Trendi Johnson’s shot off third baseman Lindsey Jackson’s glove resulted in a base hit. Jackson settled down and made a great play on Jayliegh Robins’ trick pop fly despite getting turned around for the second out, but Ruby Heintz’s gap double to left center cut it to 5-3. It would have been even more interesting, but Bluejay first baseman Jaden Atkins knocked down Jaci Davis’ hard shot to get the Bluejays out of the inning. 

North Harrison continued to keep the Bluejays off the boards in the fifth as Merrideth Adwell hit a tricky pop fly between the mound and the plate that could have easily resulted in a collision, but Gerken came away with it.

It looked like it would be like so many of Northeast’s games last year, in which they would go down to the wire regardless of the caliber of the opposition. But Makenzie Pride walked to start the sixth. Lindsey Jackson put down a good bunt; Shamrock first baseman Andi Nail made a great play when she grabbed it and tagged out Jackson as Pride took second. But then Bailey Busby hit a screamer into the right field corner and it sliced away from Katelyn Briggs as Busby flew around the bases for a two run home run to make it 7-3. Hadley DeFreece reached on an error to restart the inning, Jill Boswell walked, and then Jaden Atkins hit a carbon copy of Busby’s shot with the same result, putting the Bluejays up 10-3. 

Bluejay center fielder Ruby Wilmes ran down Trendi Johnson’s screamer to end the Shamrock sixth. But after Shamrock right fielder Katelyn Briggs doubled Hadley DeFreece off second after catching a fly ball, Jayliegh Robins singled down the right field line and Ruby Heintz hit a shot so hard that it wedged under the fence for a ground rule double to put runners on second and third with nobody out. But the Bluejays settled down and traded runs for outs with the big lead as Jaci Davis grounded out to Jill Boswell at short to score Robins and Katelyn Briggs grounded out to Jaden Atkins at first to score Heintz.