On a wild night for softball, three games were off the charts in scoring. Worth County won a wild 12-10 game over North Andrew, a team that came within an eyelash of knocking off Stanberry's run to third place in state. Northeast Nodaway won a wild game at Stewartsville, 23-13. And North Harrison won a wild 14-12 game over Pattonsburg, a team that had their number the last two years. Ava Rinehart had two doubles and a triple in the win. But it was a newcomer, Kathryn Parkhurst, who made a defensive play that killed a Pattonsburg rally in the seventh that preserved the Shamrock victory. Another newcomer, Becca Welling, made a sensational backhanded catch at second that took away extra bases and a potential big inning for the Panthers.
Both teams came into the game a mirror image of each other; they are both solid from one through five and are looking for the lower part of the order to come through. The result was a slugfest that left both teams down for the count before the Shamrocks finally took control in the third inning and led the rest of the way.
At first, it looked like it would be all Panthers, who had three games under their belt already while the Shamrocks were playing their first game of the year. Jayden Goble stretched a single into a double and Addie Iddings stretched another single into a double to make it 1-0. Kaitlyn Estes, much like her namesake from last year, Kaitlyn Jones, kept the inning going with a single to left that got away, putting her on second and scoring Iddings. Vanessa Weigand hit a seeking eye single to bring in Estes and make it 3-0.
But then Pattonsburg looked like they were the ones playing their first game as three Panther errors led to three runs, with Ava Rinehart circling the bases after a pop fly was dropped in left field and rolled all the way into right field before the Panthers could get it. Addison Milligan hit a seeing eye single between first and second and Hali Smith tripled to right center field to make it 4-3, and Andi Nail singled to left to make it 5-3.
Jaxcynn Hansel made two catches in center in the Panther second and a baserunning miscue led into a double play as the Shamrocks doubled off a runner who didn't tag up after Hansel's second catch. Lani Briggs walked and Jaxcynn Hansel reached on an error; they took second and third on a wild pitch. Ava Rinehart narrowly missed a home run and doubled to left field to make it 7-3.
But then it looked like Pattonsburg would come roaring back. Isabella Berger and Kaitlyn Estes walked to start the third. Vanessa Weigand popped out to Andi Nail at first and Kara Bernardino grounded into a force at third as Addison Milligan stepped on the bag. With the bottom of the order coming up and two outs, it looked like the Shamrocks would get out of the inning, but Emsleigh McCrary singled and went to second on the unsuccessful throw home as Bernardino took third. Rosalynn Cameron singled them both home and Cheyenne Miller and Jayden Goble walked. Addie Iddings singled to right to score two more to make it 8-7. All five Panther runs in that inning scored with two outs.
Raegan Hogan hit a slow roller that the second baseman overran as she reached for a base hit to start the Shamrock third. Kathryn Parkhurst hit a grounder to second; they tried to go to second for the first, but the speedy Hogan beat it to set up a big inning with the heart of the Shamrock order coming up. Lani Briggs walked to load the bases. Jaxcynn Hansel's shot to shortstop was snared by Cheyenne Miller, but Ava Rinehart hit a shot off the bag at third. The ball rolled away for a double as two runs scored to make it 9-8 in North Harrison's favor. Addison Milligan singled to left and both runs scored, with Rinehart scoring despite losing her shoe coming around third. Milligan took second on a wild pitch and Andi Nail singled her home to make it 12-8.
Pattonsburg tried to answer in the fourth, but Shamrock second baseman Becca Welling backhanded Vanessa Weigand's screamer to kill their inning.
But after North Harrison failed to capitalize on a first and third situation in the fourth with one out, Pattonsburg came roaring back when Emsleigh McCrary beat out a slow roller down the first base line. Rosalynn Cameron hit an apparent single, but the ball hit the divot dividing the dirt from the grass and got away as Cameron circled the bases for a home run to make it 12-10. Jayden Goble stretched a single into a double and Addie Iddings did the same to make it 12-11.
It would have snowballed from there had not the Shamrocks not made two outstanding defensive plays to preserve the lead. First, Isabella Berger grounded to shortstop Lani Briggs in the hole at short. Briggs' throw was in the dirt, but Andi Nail dug it out for the out. Then, after Hali Smith walked the bases loaded, Claire Christensen hit a tricky grounder to Smith; her only play was home and she alertly threw there for the final out to preserve the Shamrock lead.
In the Panther sixth, Jayden Goble hit a screamer, but pitcher Hali Smith, in a reflex action, stuck her glove up to protect herself and snagged it for an out.
Lani Briggs singled to right to start the Shamrock sixth. Ava Rinehart hit a screamer into the outfield for a triple to score Briggs. She circled third and tried for home and should have been out, but Jayden Goble dropped the relay throw as Rinehart was safe to make it 14-11.
But the heart of the Panther order was up for the seventh and Addie Iddings singled to left. Isabella Berger hit a long fly ball to deep left center. Jaxcynn Hansel came after it on the dead run, but did a 180 tumbling over the fence as the ball dropped in for extra bases and Iddings scored from first. But Kathryn Parkhurst came on a dead run, made a strong throw to cutoff man Lani Briggs, who threw to Addison Milligan, who tagged out Berger running by for the first out. Kaitlyn Estes doubled to right center and took third on a wild pitch, but Hali Smith struck out Vanessa Weigand and Claire Christensen grounded out to short for the final out.
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Pattonsburg coach Bill Pottorff is a grandson of the late Maxine Washburn of Hatfield, who passed away at 100 recently.
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Panther player Rosalynn Cameron is a first cousin of Kansas City Royals pitcher Noah Cameron.
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