Blair Nelson, Sasha Deardorff Triple as Bluejays Beat Stanberry

Northeast Nodaway was seemingly hung over for an inning and a half after giving up six runs and barely hanging on against Platte Valley, but then Makenzie Pride hit a shot off the left fielder’s glove in the second and then the rest of the bats came to life as the Bluejays won 10-2 over Stanberry. 

A pair of Bluejay errors right off the bat set up Stanberry’s first run in the top of the first, but catcher Baylie Busby made a running catch three quarters of the way down the first base line to end the inning and prevent further damage.

With Stanberry playing Busby deep, she hit a pop fly that nobody could catch up to and she made it for a base hit. It didn’t matter as Busby stole second and third. Hadley DeFreece singled her home to make it 1-1 as Northeast got the run back.

Pride hit a shot that the left fielder could not handle to start the second and Lindsey Jackson singled her to third. Sasha Deardorff hit a shot that dropped just in front of the left fielder for a base hit to score Pride. Mylee Wilmes forced Deardorff at second and Bristol Hicks struck out. But then the heart of the Bluejay order came up again and Baylie Busby got her second hit to score two and make it 4-1 after two. 

Stanberry pulled off a successful double steal in the third to cut it to 4-2, but then Hayley Yost hit a shot off the pitcher’s foot for a base hit. Blair Nelson provided one of two big blows, hitting a triple over the left fielder’s head to score Yost. Makenzie Pride crushed one over the center fielder’s head to score Nelson and took third when the cutoff throw got away. Lindsey Jackson flied out to score Pride.

Hadley DeFreece was playing center field, saving herself for a travel came the next morning, but she got quite a workout in the Stanberry fourth as the Bulldogs hit two screamers to right center field that she ran down to keep them off the board.

Northeast could not score in the fourth, but after Bluejay pitcher Lindsey Jackson got out of a bases loaded one out jam in the fifth, Blair Nelson reached on a dropped pop fly. Makenzie Pride advanced her to second, and then Lindsey Jackson crushed one into the left center field gap to score Nelson. Sasha Deardorff got the hit of the night, crushing an opposite field triple over the left fielder’s head, and then Mylee Wilmes grounded out to get Deardorff home.