Bluejays Shut Out Maysville as Jill Boswell Honored

Northeast Nodaway honored Jill Boswell for its senior night as they beat Maysville Monday 5-0. The Bluejays got four in the first, one in the third, and then Hadley DeFreece shut them down the rest of the way.

Jill has been a steady hand at shortstop for the Bluejays, starting all four years for them. In 2021, the Bluejays had won one game in the last two years, when they played a wild nine inning game with North Harrison. The game was finally decided when Jill Boswell got a walkoff triple to drive in a run and hand the Bluejays the victory. Later that year, she hit an over the fence home run against DeKalb early on to make it 2-0, and the Bluejays made it stand up for a 2-1 win. Since then, the Bluejays have won 17, 11, and now 13 games and counting, getting a winning season their past three years.

Baylie Busby, in her second game back at catcher for the Bluejays, walked to start the Bluejay first. Hadley DeFreece singled to right to move her to third and stole second. Jill Boswell reached as the shortstop lost the ball in the sun as she took first, DeFreece stayed at second, and Busby scored. Brianna Meyer, who had a hot bat for the Bluejays lately, crushed a double to right center to score both runs to make it 3-0. Hayley Yost hit a seeing eye single that somehow rolled really slowly between first and second as Meyer scored to make it 4-0.

Meyer crushed a triple down the left field line and into the corner to lead off the Bluejay third. Hayley Yost grounded out to score her and make it 5-0. That rounded out the scoring; Maysville has lost 13 games, but 11 of them have been by five runs or less thanks to the pitching of Elana Clark; she settled down and shut down ten straight Bluejays at one point. 

But Hadley DeFreece and the Bluejays were able to shut down Clark and the Wolverines. Clark struck out, popped out to Mylee Wilmes at second, and flied out to Gracie Kohlleppel in right. The only tense point was whether the Wolverines could break the shutout. In the Maysville second, Ashlyn Clark led off with a single, but Brooke Sterling forced her at second. The next two batters struck out. With two outs in the third, Sophia Redman hit a pop fly single to right, but Hadley DeFreece struck out Sam Gripka for the third out, leaving Clark in the on-deck circle. 

Ashlyn Clark got her second hit, a pop fly single to left center in the fourth, only for Hadley DeFreece to strike out Sterling and get Lillie Mygatt to pop out to Jill Boswell. DeFreece retired nine straight Wolverines from the fourth to the seventh, but with one out in the seventh, Brooke Sterling crushed one that nearly left the yard before rolling under the left field fence for a ground rule double. Mygatt grounded out to move her to third, but Hadley struck out McKenzie Carpenter for the final out.

The Bluejays played errorless ball to secure the win. Hadley DeFreece struck out eight batters.