Tenley Griffith Fans 200th Batter, but Hali Smith Carries Shamrocks to First Win

Tenley Griffith struck out her 200^th batter Monday against North Harrison, but the previously winless Shamrocks snapped the Hawks’ five game winning streak and got their first win of the season as Hali Smith carried the team on her shoulders, delivering one of the best pitching performances of her career by striking out 10 Hawk batters and keeping a potent Gilman City lineup in check. Gilman City could not climb out of a 4-0 hole as the Shamrocks, who had trouble protecting the lead all year and who had trouble with adding on runs when ahead, finally did so in Monday’s game in their 10-6 win. Addison Milligan said that Shamrock coach Justin Joiner did nothing special for Monday night’s game. “We were just locked in,” she said.

Lani Briggs started the game with a bad-hop single to second. Jaxcynn Hansel tapped a bunt in front of the plate, and catcher Avery Chadwick threw away the force try to second to put runners on second and third. Ava Rinehart tripled to the right field wall to put the Shamrocks up 2-0. Addison Milligan was plunked and stole second. Raegan Hogan tapped a ball in front of the plate and beat it out. Rinehart timed the throw to first perfectly and took off on the throw, making it in safely to make it 3-0. Katherine Parkhurst, who had started hitting the ball well in the Worth County game, kept up her improvement as she grounded out to short to bring in Addison Milligan to make it 4-0.

Tenley Griffith walked to start the Hawk first, but Hali Smith was on and was overpowering even the good hitters in the Hawk lineup. Finally, Nova Smith singled from right and Griffith, trying to give her team a spark, scored all the way from first to get Gilman City on the board, down 4-1.

A four-run lead was not safe for the Shamrocks, as they had led Worth County 7-3, only for them to come back. But when Gilman City failed to cash in a runner on third with nobody out in the second, Ava Rinehart doubled to the wall in center to start the Shamrock third. Addison Milligan singled her home to make it 5-1. Milligan later came home on a passed ball to make it 6-1.

Alli Burke finally got Gilman City going when she crushed a ball fair just inside the first baseline. It sliced away from Katherine Parkhurst and Burke was in standing up with a triple. An errant pickoff throw allowed her to come home. Nova Smith was plunked to start the Hawks again. Avery Chadwick grounded out to advance her, and Kayleece Puls, who kept the hot bat going with three hits Monday after getting three in the Grundy County game, singled her home to make it 6-3.

The Shamrocks had played errorless ball through the first three, but they looked like they would finally start to unravel in the fourth as a pair of errors brought home Tenley Griffith to cut the Hawk deficit to 6-4. But a dropped pop fly put Ava Rinehart on base, and Addison Milligan tripled her home in the Shamrock fifth to make it 7-4. Milligan came home on a wild pitch to make it 8-4.

With two outs in the sixth, Tenley Griffith tripled to the left center field wall; everyone wanted coach Danny Lisle to send her home, but Lani Briggs had the ball at deep short and was ready to throw home for what would have been a close play. Emily Chalfant walked. Alli Burke singled to right center to score Tenley Griffith to make it 8-5. But Chalfant was out trying to go first to third as Lani Briggs threw a perfect strike to Addison Milligan for the tag.

Once again, just as it looked like Gilman City would catch up, North Harrison added on. Hali Smith reached on an error. Raegan Hogan hit a hard shot to Kayleece Puls at short; she made a great diving stop, but had no play against the speedy Hogan. They took second and third on a wild pitch. Katherine Parkhurst hit a grounder to second. Hali Smith made the kind of daredevil play that Anna Gladstone used to do all the time for Worth County and Avery Gregg did for the Hawks last year. She dared Gilman City to throw her out, drew the throw to third, and took off for home, making it safely to make it 9-5 as Hogan took third. Hogan came home on a wild pitch to make it 10-5.

Later in the inning, Tenley Griffith struck out Shayla Vandiver for her 200^th career strikeout for the Hawks.

With two outs in the seventh, Kayleece Puls walked to keep the game going and took second on a passed ball. Emmery Smith got a single off her cousin Hali and kept the Hawks chances alive, making it 10-6 as Puls scored. But Hali Smith got her 10^th strikeout to end the game.