Worth County won its second tournament of the year by winning the North Harrison Round Robin Saturday. They had previously won the King City Tournament. This was the first year they had won multiple tournaments since at least 2006. North Harrison was second in the tournament; they lost to the Tigers, but then finally came out of their slump in a huge way against Green City to claim the runner-up spot.
Worth County 7, North Harrison 0
North Harrison had been showing signs of coming out of their slump against Albany, in which they were getting to strike two or the second out easily enough, but had trouble getting the third strike or the third out. They continued to show signs of improvement in the first inning of the Worth County game when an error turned out to be harmless. In the second, Brylee Rush beat out a slow roller only to be doubled off by shortstop Ruby Heintz when Autumn Cousatte hit a line drive that looked headed up the middle, only for Heintz to snag it and double Rush off.
But when the Shamrocks failed to convert a bases loaded and one out situation, and Tiger pitcher Brooklyn Richardson struck out back to back Shamrock batters to get out of the Shamrock second, the bad habits that formed during the slump reared themselves again. Rylee Ruckman walked and stole second and Rayleigh Smith grounded out to advance her. Brooklyn Richardson walked on a wild pitch, Ruckman scored, and Richardson took off for second and made it on a close play. Shamrock pitcher Erica Gerken jammed Kambree Briner and got her to line out to first baseman Andi Nail, but then Kristen Tracy singled to score Richardson. Kynah Steele tweaked her hip swinging at a pitch in the first of two injury scares during the game but refused to come out of the game and singled to center to put Tracy on third. Addison Gray ran for her, and Brylee Rush hit a fly ball dropped by center fielder Kira Robertson as two Tiger runs scored with Gray off with the crack of the bat with two outs. It took North Harrison five tries to finally get the elusive third out; Worth County scored three of their four runs in the inning with two outs.
Tiger pitcher Brooklyn Richardson settled down and struck out three straight Shamrocks in the third. But North Harrison stiffened up in the fourth as catcher Lani Briggs threw out Brooklyn Richardson trying to steal third, something Richardson has done countless times this year.
Jaci Davis singled to right center to start the Shamrock fourth and Tiger center fielder Riley Ridge made a great play to stop the ball from going into the gap and keep it from being extra bases. Ruby Heintz reached on a dropped force play at second. But Hailey Claycomb popped out to Richardson and Carmon Fordyce hit a ball that looked headed into left field between third and short. Tiger shortstop Kynah Steele, despite playing on a hip that she was still favoring, made a diving stop and dove to third base and tagged it with her glove to force out Davis at third. Brooklyn Richardson threw a close pitch to Jaxcynn Hansel, and she went around for the third out, keeping the Shamrocks off the board. Obviously still thinking about the missed opportunity, the Shamrocks struggled defensively in the fifth. Kambree Briner reached on pitcher Erica Gerken’s bobble, and then Kristen Tracy singled to left. Left fielder Hailey Claycomb let the ball roll through her legs and made it to second as Briner scored. Kynah Steele popped out to catcher Lani Briggs for the first out. Brylee Rush doubled into the left field corner to score Tracy, and Autumn Cousatte walked. Keira Hardy hit a hard shot, but right at first baseman Andi Nail, who nearly doubled Cousatte off first. It was now two outs, and Rylee Ruckman hit a slow roller that Gerken turned to backhand, only to fall down and tweak her ankle as the bases were loaded.
A lot of players would have come out of the game at that point, but Gerken refused to come out of the game and insisted on staying in, pushing through the pain. She plunked Rayleigh Smith to force in a run, but then got Brooklyn Richardson to chase a high pitch for that elusive third out. When she showed that toughness and refused to come out of the game, that was when the Shamrocks started to play better and finally come out of their slump for the next game.
But North Harrison couldn’t get anything going in the fifth as Kira Robertson singled to right and Lani Briggs reached on an error. But Erica Gerken struck out and then Kayka Wilson grounded to Kynah Steele, who stepped on second and threw to first for the out. While Steele has victimized the Shamrocks many times with her bat, she did so with her glove Saturday.
Tiger pitcher Brooklyn Richardson finished the game with 10 strikeouts. Another Shamrock nemesis, she put the clamps on them the rest of the way.
Tigers 15, Green City 0
Worth County needed to beat the Gophers to win the tournament outright after their win. Green City is a young team with one senior, two juniors, and the rest of their players freshmen and sophomores. They have hit the ball well, scoring five runs or more in most of their games, but struggled defensively, having trouble finding pitching.
After Brooklyn Richardson struck out two and left fielder Brylee Rush ran down Lily Helton’s drive to start the game, Richardson got plunked and stole second. Kambree Briner reached as the first baseman dropped a throw and Richardson scored from second. Kristen Tracy singled down the left field line and they took second and third on a wild pitch. Kynah Steele grounded out to score Briner. Brylee Rush walked and Autumn Cousatte doubled down the left field line scoring Tracy. Keira Hardy grounded out to score Rush.
With one out in the Gopher second, Milly Ortega was plunked and Mia Ortega reached on a bunt single to put runners on first and second. Phyliss Helton hit an apparent base hit between third and short, but Kynah Steele made a diving stop and flipped it to Keira Hardy at third for a forceout. Richardson got a strikeout to get out of the inning with no damage done.
In the Tiger second with one out, Brooklyn Richardson singled and stole second and third. She came home when Kambree Briner reached on an error to make it 5-0.
Green City mounted another threat in the third when Macy Jeffries got hit by a pitch. Clare Gordon popped out to Kristen Tracy at first and Lily Helton struck out. But Jaryn Hatcher singled and Kadence King was plunked to load the bases. But the Tigers used another outstanding defensive play to get out of the inning as Milly Ortega hit a sinking line drive that Riley Ridge ran down in center and made a shoestring catch to end the inning.
After Ridge’s play, the floodgates opened for the Tigers. Brylee Rush hit a drive to center that the fielder tried for a shoestring catch on but missed. Autumn Cousatte walked and Keira Hardy reached on an error when the center fielder overran her fly ball and dropped it, scoring Rush and putting Hardy on second and Cousatte on third. Rylee Ruckman singled to left and made it all the way to third when the throw home got away as Hardy scored and Cousatte scored.
Becca Smith grounded out to score Ruckman and Brooklyn Richardson swung at a pitch in the dirt and it got away, allowing her to reach first. Kambree Briner hit a slow roller to a dead spot between first and second as Brooklyn Richardson went first to third. Briner then stole second and Richardson pulled off a successful delayed steal of home on the return throw to the pitcher. Briner took third on the throw home.
Green City changed pitchers, but Kristen Tracy walked and stole second and Briner scored on a wild pitch as Tracy took third. Kynah Steele got plunked and Brylee Rush walked. Autumn Cousatte walked to force in a run. Keira Hardy hit a squib down the third base line and made it for a scratch hit, scoring Steele. Brylee Rush scored on a wild pitch, putting Cousatte on third and Hardy on second.
At that point, Green City intentionally walked Ruckman with Worth County up 14-0 and brought the infield in for the play at the plate. Evalyn Gilland replaced Ruckman at first and Sumer Riley replaced Cousatte at third. Riley scored on a wild pitch to end the game early for the Tigers.
Brooklyn Richardson finished the tournament with 10 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks and 14 strikeouts.
North Harrison 19, Green City 6
North Harrison broke its five game losing streak with a vengeance in the finale, jumping on the Gophers, holding off attempts to rally, and pulling away to the five inning victory. Fears that the game or the tournament would get rained out did not materialize; continuous lightning wiped out the North Andrew Tournament; however, the storm clouds broke up by the time they reached Eagleville, meaning there was only a light rain.
Offensively, the Shamrocks were in a slump in which they scored one run in their last 17 innings. But Lani Briggs singled to left to start things off. Erica Gerken popped out, but Jaci Davis doubled off the right field wall to score the first run of the game. Kayka Wilson took second as a throw got away from the first baseman as Davis scored. Ruby Heintz singled to right to put Wilson on third. Hailey Claycomb was plunked to load the bases. Carmon Fordyce reached as the shortstop bobbled it, scoring one and keeping the bases loaded. Jaxcynn Hansel walked to force in a run. Hailey Claycomb scored on a wild pitch. Kira Robertson struck out, and Lani Briggs hit a grounder to the pitcher. She didn’t realize there were two outs, went home with it, and threw it away, scoring two to make it 7-0 after one.
Green City has hit the ball well this year and wanted to give a better account of themselves this time. Macy Jeffries walked and Clare Gordon grounded out to advance her to second. Lily Helton’s fly ball was dropped by Kira Robertson after a long run, scoring Jeffries. Helton took second on a wild pitch. Jaryn Hatcher singled her home, but was out trying to steal second to kill the rally and limit the damage to two runs.
Kayka Wilson reached on a grounder under the shortstop’s legs to start the second. Ruby Heintz was plunked and they went to second and third on a wild pitch. Hailey Claycomb chased a pitch in the dirt and it got away. It took Claycomb a few minutes to realize what was happening, but she managed to scramble to first safely as Wilson scored and Heintz took third. Carmon Fordyce reached as the center fielder dropped a fly ball and Heintz scored as Claycomb went to third and Fordyce second. Claycomb scored on a wild pitch for the second time of the game as Fordyce took third. Jaxcynn Hansel was plunked and stole second.
At that point, Jaryn Hatcher replaced Macy Jeffries at the mound and struck out Kira Robertson. Lani Briggs grounded out to score Fordyce as Hansel took third. Hansel scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-2.
A pair of Gopher errors let in another Shamrock run in the third to make it 13-2.
Green City then began to make the kind of rally that North Harrison had folded under during their slump. With the heart of their order coming up, Macy Jeffries walked and stole and Clare Gordon singled to right to score one. The dangerous Lily Helton was up, but Gerken froze her for strike three for the first out. Jaryn Hatcher walked and the runners took second and third on a passed ball. Phyllis Helton singled in two more, but Erica Gerken kept throwing strikes and got out of the inning when Milly Ortega struck out.
Erica Gerken and Jaci Davis walked to start the fourth. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Kayka Wilson doubled to left field to score Gerken and put Davis on third. Ruby Heintz singled to left to score Wilson and Davis. Carmon Fordyce was plunked and Kira Robertson crushed a triple to right center to score Fordyce and Heintz.
Jaci Davis singled, Kayka Wilson singled, and Ruby Heintz doubled to the left field corner in the fifth to account for North Harrison’s final run.
With time expired, the Gophers tried to mound one more rally as Clare Gordon singled and Lily Helton hit a fly ball that Kira Robertson lost in the sun as Helton took second and Gordon third. Jaryn Hatcher grounded out to score Gordon, but Shamrock pitcher Erica Gerken got the final two outs to seal the win.
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