North Harrison’s junior high squad overcame a pair of early drubbings by Worth County and South Harrison to post a banner year despite all the rainouts, running the table the rest of the way and only losing two games.
Their first game was a 14-1 win over King City. They had ten hits, seven for extra bases, and got stellar pitching from Hadley Williams in the win. Alivia Parkhurst, Draylee Davis, Taryn Johnson, and Tayley Johnson had doubles, while Hadley Williams, McKenna Hill, and Quincy Norris had triples. Amelia Long established herself early as a threat on the basepaths, with three steals. McKenna Hill and Quincy Norris had two, while Alivia Parkhurst, Draylee Davis, and Tayley Johnson had 1.
Williams pitched four innings with two hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. She threw 46 pitches, 38 of which were strikes.
The “B” squad lost 6-4. Hattie Hogan had one hit. Draylee Davis and Hayli Young had steals.
Their first adversity came against Worth County, who rolled to an unbeaten season this year and capped it off with a 20-0 win over Cameron to close out the season. The Shamrocks knotted it up 3-3 after one, but then Daden Findley came on in relief and shut down the Shamrocks, pitching four innings, gave up no hits, and striking out eight. She added a home run. The rest of the team followed Findley’s lead, with Jolee Hauber getting three hits and Gwyn Healy, Renae Gladstone, and Gabbey Maudlin all getting two hits in the 16-3 win. For North Harrison, Hadley Williams got the lone hit and added a steal.
The “B” team salvaged the second game with a 3-2 win. Jamesyn Pottorff had three steals, while Anniston Dale and Karsyn Smith had one each.
In the North Harrison Tournament, the Shamrocks fell behind 3-0 in the third inning against Princeton. It would have been easy for them to say, “Here we go again,” but they responded with a big inning, getting seven in the bottom half of the third. They added two more to get the 9-3 win.
Hadley Williams settled down after that rough third inning and finished the game, getting the win. She had 67 pitches and 47 strikes.
Hadley Williams and Quincy Norris had two hits each. McKenna Hill, Tayley Johnson, Taryn Johnson, Hattie Hogan, and Draylee Davis had one each. Both of Quincy Norris’ hits were doubles, and Hadley Williams added another. Tayley Johnson had two steals, while Amelia Long, Draylee Davis, McKenna Hill, and Taryn Johnson each had one. The Shamrocks played errorless ball in the field.
But the fielding imploded for the Shamrocks in the South Harrison game, which they lost 10-2. Hadley Williams and Quincy Norris had two hits each. McKenna Hill had one. Quincy Norris had a double, while Hadley Williams had a triple.
After a game like that, it was once again either a chance to lock in and play up to their potential, or mail it in for the season. Once again, they bounced back with a 17-4 win over Gilman City, kicking off a winning streak that would carry them until the end of the season. They started off with eight in the first. A young Gilman City squad fought back, getting some hits and getting three runs back, but the Shamrocks answered with nine in the second to put it away.
Hadley Williams carried the team on her shoulders again, getting two hits. McKenna Hill, Amelia Long, and Quincy Norris had one. Hadley Williams and McKenna Hill had home runs. The Shamrocks ran wild on the basepaths, with 13 steals on the day. Quincy Norris and Taryn Johnson had 3, Amelia Long and Hadley Williams had 2, and Anniston Dale, Jamesyn Pottorff, and Karsyn Smith had 1.
The success carried into their next game as the Shamrocks played giant-killer, downing a bigger Hamilton school 13-1. McKenna Hill carried the team offensively, getting three hits. Tayley Johnson and Quincy Norris had one. McKenna Hill, Quincy Norris, and Tayley Johnson had triples. Taryn Johnson had two steals, while Alivia Parkhurst, Draylee Davis, Hattie Hogan, McKenna Hill, and Quincy Norris had one.
Amelia Long carried the Shamrocks on the defensive site, pitching all four innings with two hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts. The Shamrocks played errorless ball behind her. Long had 58 pitches and threw 40 strikes.
The “B” team won as well, getting a 6-2 win. Emma Crowder and Jamesyn Pottorff had two steals. Hayli Young and Karsyn Smith had one.
The success continued the next game, with North Harrison turning back Albany 8-2. Hattie Hogan is following her sister Raegan into the softball ranks, and she led the team with two hits. McKenna Hill and Taryn Johnson had one. Hattie Hogan had a double. Taryn Johnson and Tayley Johnson had 2 steals each. Amelia Long, Hattie Hogan, and McKenna Hill had one. The Shamrocks only made one error in the field.
Hadley Williams pitched the win, giving up two hits, walking one, and striking out nine in four innings of work. She threw 66 pitches, 39 for strikes.
The “B” team won 6-3. McKenna Hill had two steals and Hayli Young had one.
The Shamrocks rolled on as Amelia Long tossed a no-hitter and the Shamrocks beat North Andrew 11-0. Long pitched five innings and nearly pitched a perfect game, only walking one batter while striking out six. The Shamrocks played errorless ball behind her.
Meanwhile, Long got plenty of run support. Hadley Williams and Quincy Norris had two hits, while Tayley Johnson, Amelia Long, Hattie Hogan, and Draylee Davis all had one. Five of their eight hits went for extra bases. Hadley Williams had two doubles, while Amelia Long and Hattie Hogan had one. Quincy Norris had a triple. The Shamrocks had 12 steals as Quincy Norris had four, McKenna Hill 2, and Draylee Davis, Hadley Williams, Karsyn Smith, Taryn Johnson, and Tayley Johnson all with one.
The “B” team dropped their game 6-0. Jamesyn Pottorff was a bright spot with two steals.
The Shamrocks played their first full seven-inning game of the year, and they overcame the fatigue, beating Mercer 11-3. The game was close until the Shamrocks broke it open late. The Shamrocks scored three in the first and two in the second to jump out to a 5-1 lead. Mercer battled back, scoring two in the fourth. But Hadley Williams, pitching all seven innings, bore down and didn’t allow another run. Meanwhile, North Harrison scored two in the sixth and four in the seventh to get the win.
McKenna Hill and Hadley Williams had three hits. Amelia Long and Draylee Davis had two. Six of their ten hits were for extra bases. Amelia Long and Hadley Williams had doubles. Hadley Williams had two triples, while Amelia Long and McKenna Hill had one. McKenna Hill had three steals. Draylee Davis and Tayley Johnson had 2, while Amelia Long, Quincy Norris, and Taryn Johnson had one each.
Hadley Williams pitched all seven innings, giving up four hits, and striking out 13. She threw 121 pitches, 81 for strikes.
The “B” team also won 7-3. Alivia Parkhurst, Tayley Johnson, and McKenna Hill got hits. Tayley Johnson hit a home run, while McKenna Hill had a double. Anniston Dale had two steals, and McKenna Hill had one.
The final game was a thriller between North Harrison and Princeton. It turned into a pitching duel between Amelia Long for the Shamrocks and Harper Power for Princeton, with Power fanning ten Shamrocks and Long striking out nine Princeton batters. Long tossed the best game of her life, only giving up one Princeton hit. McKenna Hill had two hits, while Amelia Long and Hadley Williams had one. Hadley Williams had a triple. McKenna Hill had two steals.
The game was scoreless until the sixth and final inning. McKenna Hill led off the bottom of the inning by beating out an infield single after having two strikes on her. Tayley Johnson grounded out to short as Hill took second. Amelia Long hit a pop fly to center that dropped in for a base hit; Hill had a perfect read on the ball and came home for the 1-0 win.
The “B” team followed the lead of the “A” team, rallying in the third and final inning to get a 7-6 walkoff win. Draylee Davis stopped the bleeding for North Harrison and kept them in the game on the mound. Hayli Young had a hit. Jamesyn Pottorff had two steals, while Annison Dale and Hayli Young had one. In the final inning, Hayli Young got the lone Shamrock hit to drive in Jamesyn Pottorff to tie it at 6-6 to save the Shamrocks from losing. She later came around to score on a wild pitch to walk it off.
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