Saturday, September 28, 2013
WCCC Up to 25 Residents
The Worth County Convalescent Center is now back up to 25 residents, reversing a decline that happened over the last few years at least temporarily. Administrator Bev Miller said that the facility has done what they have always done, which is to take care of its residents. "People are seeing the changes that we are making and that could be contributing," she said. The facility is planning to celebrate Homecoming this week with the rest of the community. They will be having a Halloween Party in which staff and residents will participate. Trick or Treaters will be invited to stop by and residents will hand out treats. They are also planning for their annual Holiday Dinner as well.
Alicia Smith Powers NEN to Rare Win over Stewartsville
Alicia Smith used her bat Thursday evening to power Northeast Nodaway's softball team to a rare win over Stewartsville, the first win over the Cards in four years and only the second in six. Northeast got their second road win of the year, downing the Cardinals 11-7. Alicia was 2 for 4 with a double and a triple as the Bluejay freshman saw all her hard work on the game pay off in a big way. She had been playing summer softball and traveling softball for the last year and she has not looked like a freshman at all when stepping to the plate. Claudia Wiederholt, Jenny Seipel, and Jill Spire also hit the ball well for Northeast in the win.
Northeast threatened to end the game on the 10-run rule by the fifth inning, leading the game 10-0. But the Cardinals, a dangerous hitting team with a tall girl who can hit it to the fence at will, fought back and got to within 10-6. The teams traded runs in the sixth and then Stewartsville got the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 7th and the tying run at the plate. But third baseman Talina Nelson made a game-saving play when she caught a screaming line drive that looked like it would be headed for extra bases and stepped on third for the double play, leaving Stewartsville's big hitter stranded on the on-deck circle.
The win was their second conference win and their 5th win of the year after getting one last year and none the year before that. In Tuesday's action, Northeast lost to South Nodaway 11-7 after wasting a 4-0 lead. Coach Hilary Loe said that the focus of the next week would be stopping momentum-changing plays from happening. They finally were able to tag Longhorn pitcher Allison Hilsabeck with some hits after struggling at the plate in the first two meetings with South Nodaway.
On Saturday, the Bluejays completed their action in the North Andrew Tournament. In the first consolation round, Northeast came from behind to beat North Nodaway 8-6. It was the third win for NEN over the Mustangs this year. They dug themselves into a 5-2 hole after one inning, but fought back with strong pitching from Dallis Coffelt and some timely hitting and baserunning to get the win. The Bluejays failed to get consolation as they went the distance and played well, but lost 9-2 to South Nodaway.
Northeast threatened to end the game on the 10-run rule by the fifth inning, leading the game 10-0. But the Cardinals, a dangerous hitting team with a tall girl who can hit it to the fence at will, fought back and got to within 10-6. The teams traded runs in the sixth and then Stewartsville got the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 7th and the tying run at the plate. But third baseman Talina Nelson made a game-saving play when she caught a screaming line drive that looked like it would be headed for extra bases and stepped on third for the double play, leaving Stewartsville's big hitter stranded on the on-deck circle.
The win was their second conference win and their 5th win of the year after getting one last year and none the year before that. In Tuesday's action, Northeast lost to South Nodaway 11-7 after wasting a 4-0 lead. Coach Hilary Loe said that the focus of the next week would be stopping momentum-changing plays from happening. They finally were able to tag Longhorn pitcher Allison Hilsabeck with some hits after struggling at the plate in the first two meetings with South Nodaway.
On Saturday, the Bluejays completed their action in the North Andrew Tournament. In the first consolation round, Northeast came from behind to beat North Nodaway 8-6. It was the third win for NEN over the Mustangs this year. They dug themselves into a 5-2 hole after one inning, but fought back with strong pitching from Dallis Coffelt and some timely hitting and baserunning to get the win. The Bluejays failed to get consolation as they went the distance and played well, but lost 9-2 to South Nodaway.
Andrew Mullock Returns, Wyatt Rush gets 279 Yards; Tigers Beat Mustangs 72-54
Worth County beat North Nodaway 72-54 as Andrew Mullock made his return and Wyatt Rush ran 36 times for 279 yards in another track meet. When the two teams met in JV a few years ago, the players were similar and the Tigers lost a similar track meet to North Nodaway. But when the players moved to varsity roles, the tables were turned; Worth County was able to turn around and win at North Nodaway. They overcame a slew of miscues including six bad snaps and a shanked kickoff that led to an easy score. They were able to keep their penalties down for two weeks in a row. North Nodaway's miscues were more serious as they turned the ball over four times and got untracked too late. These included a goal line fumble and a pick thrown into the end zone that killed two drives.
The first quarter was not indicative of the remainder of the struggle as it started out like a defensive struggle. North Nodaway was shooting their linebackers through and guessing right every single time in that first quarter while Worth County wasted two chances to score after getting the ball in Mustang territory. North Nodaway elected to try a squib kick and Lane Craven returned it to the Mustang 38. But Worth County could not convert thanks to a bad snap on fourth down. North Nodaway returned the favor thanks to a bad snap of their own, pounced on by Truman Moore at the Mustang 36. Lane Craven caught a pass for 13 to the 23 and Andrew Mullock ran for 8 more to the 15. Worth County got all the way down to the 5 on fourth down, but then Wyatt Rush was stopped a yard short.
Worth County twice failed to convert from deep in Mustang territory. That led the Mustang players to believe that they could play with the Tigers. They drove right down the field and got to the 1 yard line before Wyatt Rush recovered a fumble at the 1 to keep the game scoreless. But then another bad snap cost the Tigers as on fourth down, Wyatt was snowed under at the one and North Nodaway capitalized with a six yard pass from Koby Reynolds to Dakota Chestnut with 3:36 left. Reynolds ran in the extra points to make it 8-0.
It looked like it might be another long night for Worth County as the blocking broke down and they could get nowhere on two plays. But an offsides penalty made it a more manageable third and six situation from the 35 and then Ben Badell took yet another bad snap and somehow managed to convert it for a first down to give the Tigers new life. Ben showed a lot of development as a quarterback as he has learned to run with the ball effectively as a quarterback and was able to get some good ones when it counted.
North Nodaway's blitzing tactics finally backfired as Andrew Mullock burned them with a quick hitter for 15 yards down to the 21. The Tigers were once again shorthanded without Brevyn Ross (collarbone), stretching them thin at the corner position. But Andrew's return was timely as he was able to make some critical plays on both offense and defense. Ben Badell once again got a key carry for the Tigers, muscling his way just short of the first down at the one to set up fourth down. Wyatt Rush took it the rest of the way as once again North Nodaway overextended and Worth County got on the board with 12.1 seconds left, trailing 8-6.
Wyatt Rush had two pass breakups on the next series and North Nodaway struggled with their long snapping game as well as they were forced to punt. Wyatt got a big surge from the line and took it 45 yards to the house with 11:36 left in the second to make it 12-8. But North Nodaway got it right back as there were too many defensive breakdowns on the next series and Dakota Smyser caught a 23 yard pass from Reynolds to put North Nodaway back up 14-12 with 9:10 left.
North Nodaway threatened to take control of the game following another bad snap from the Tigers and another three and out. They drove all the way down to the Tiger 5; however, Nate Pointer picked off a pass in the end zone to keep North Nodaway off the board. A score could have made it a two possession game in North Nodaway's favor.
From there, Wyatt Rush broke a host of tackles to the 26 and then weaved his way to the Tiger 38. He took the third straight handoff, hurdled two defenders, and ran to the 11 for 31 more yards.A six yard keeper from Ben Badell and two more cracks from Wyatt put the Tigers up to stay and Wyatt ran in the extra points to make it 20-14.
Ben Badell got a pick to put the Tigers in good field position at their own 35. That was North Nodaway's fourth turnover of the game. Two plays later, Wyatt was off to the races again, ripping off 45 more yards for a score with 3:18 left to put the Tigers up 26-14.
North Nodaway buried themselves with a holding penalty on the next series. Shadow Briner had a quarterback hurry on the series and Lane Craven partially blocked a punt that set up the Tigers on their own 35 with plenty of time to make it three possessions. Wyatt Rush ripped off 33 more yards to the 12 behind a block from Austin Carlson and then picked up three more to the 9. Ben Badell took it the rest of the way to put Worth County up three possessions at 32-14 with 36.1 seconds left. Ben managed the clock perfectly on the series, directing the Tigers down the field while leaving North Nodaway with too little time to score again right before the half. North Nodaway made it into Tiger territory, but Nate Pointer got a sack to kill the drive.
By the half, Wyatt Rush had 225 yards on 27 carries. But with North Nodaway keying on Wyatt in the second, Nate Pointer got the bulk of the carries although Wyatt was constantly a threat. North Nodaway had four turnovers to prevent them from answering effectively.
But the Mustangs got new life in the second half thanks to a botched kickoff that barely rolled off the tee. By rule the ball is spotted where it lands if it does not travel the required 10 yards. North Nodaway took full advantage of the momentum-changing play, cutting it to 32-22 and it was a track meet between the two teams for the rest of the game.
North Nodaway returned the favor on the next kickoff and Worth County got the ball on the Mustang 32. They took full advantage of the gift. With Wyatt Rush and Nate Pointer carrying the load, the Tigers moved down to the 9, where Andrew Mullock got a 9 yard touchdown following a Wyatt Rush block to make it 38-22 with 9:03 left.
North Nodaway could get nowhere on their next series as Truman Moore got a sack and they were forced to punt. Andrew Mullock made a touchdown saving tackle as he made a shoestring grab of Reynolds trying to scramble for yardage; had he not made the play, Reynolds would have been gone. The ensuing punt came under a heavy rush and it was shanked, giving Worth County a short field to work with at the Mustang 35. With everyone keying on Wyatt, nobody was covering Mullock, who caught a perfect swing pass from Ben Badell for a 31 yard score that made it 46-22 with 6:09 left in the third. It was similar to the swing pass against Stanberry that broke their backs last year.
Neither team could get anything else going for the rest of the quarter, but a roughing the passer call against Worth County gave North Nodaway new life, which they converted into a score with 10:56 left in the fourth quarter to make it 46-28. Ben Badell had a key pass breakup on the extra point that kept it a three possession game.
North Nodaway, at this point, went to their onside kick. There was method to their strategy besides trying to get the ball back; the short field meant that Worth County would take less time off the clock to score instead of taking a long time off from, say, their own 15. Jacob Hardy pounced on this one at the 39, and Ben Badell's keeper behind a Truman Moore block got 26 yards down to the Mustang 8. Three cracks from Wyatt got only to the one; however, Ben Badell, who really wanted the ball on the series, converted a fourth down sneak to put the Tigers up as Josh Warner pushed him into the end zone. That is one of those actions that is illegal and is frequently done, yet is rarely called by the officials. Wyatt Rush and Lane Craven formed a perfect wall for Ben Badell to run in the extra points to put Worth County up 54-28.
North Nodaway went to the long bomb and they used a 53 yard pass to Dakota Smyser to set up a five yard run from Reynolds to make it 54-34 with 8:09 left. But this time, the onside kick backfired as Lane Craven scooped it up and returned it to the Mustang 25, nearly breaking one in the process. Worth County only needed one play to answer as Nate Pointer got a Wyatt Rush block and got 25 yards to make it 60-34 with 7:55 left.
This time, kickoff coverage turned out to be an area in need of improvement as the Tigers gave up the first of two long runbacks. Fred Rios ran back the kickoff to the Tiger 22 and Dakota Chestnut caught a long pass with 6:47 left to make it 60-40. The onside kick was fumbled around until Wyatt pounced on it at the Mustang 36; a few plays later, Ben Badell threw a long strike to Chris Alarcon from 24 yards out with 4:49 to make it 66-40. Another breakdown on kickoff coverage led to another Rios runback, this time to the 9. That set up a pass to Chestnut that made it 66-48 with 3:48 left. Wyatt Rush broke his final run of the evening, bouncing outside and getting a 32 yard score to make it 72-48. North Nodaway used some trickery to get their final score of the night, a reverse pass from Dakota Smyser to Dakota Chestnut from 38 yards out to make it 72-54 with 1:12 left before Worth County was finally able to run out the clock for the win.
The first quarter was not indicative of the remainder of the struggle as it started out like a defensive struggle. North Nodaway was shooting their linebackers through and guessing right every single time in that first quarter while Worth County wasted two chances to score after getting the ball in Mustang territory. North Nodaway elected to try a squib kick and Lane Craven returned it to the Mustang 38. But Worth County could not convert thanks to a bad snap on fourth down. North Nodaway returned the favor thanks to a bad snap of their own, pounced on by Truman Moore at the Mustang 36. Lane Craven caught a pass for 13 to the 23 and Andrew Mullock ran for 8 more to the 15. Worth County got all the way down to the 5 on fourth down, but then Wyatt Rush was stopped a yard short.
Worth County twice failed to convert from deep in Mustang territory. That led the Mustang players to believe that they could play with the Tigers. They drove right down the field and got to the 1 yard line before Wyatt Rush recovered a fumble at the 1 to keep the game scoreless. But then another bad snap cost the Tigers as on fourth down, Wyatt was snowed under at the one and North Nodaway capitalized with a six yard pass from Koby Reynolds to Dakota Chestnut with 3:36 left. Reynolds ran in the extra points to make it 8-0.
It looked like it might be another long night for Worth County as the blocking broke down and they could get nowhere on two plays. But an offsides penalty made it a more manageable third and six situation from the 35 and then Ben Badell took yet another bad snap and somehow managed to convert it for a first down to give the Tigers new life. Ben showed a lot of development as a quarterback as he has learned to run with the ball effectively as a quarterback and was able to get some good ones when it counted.
North Nodaway's blitzing tactics finally backfired as Andrew Mullock burned them with a quick hitter for 15 yards down to the 21. The Tigers were once again shorthanded without Brevyn Ross (collarbone), stretching them thin at the corner position. But Andrew's return was timely as he was able to make some critical plays on both offense and defense. Ben Badell once again got a key carry for the Tigers, muscling his way just short of the first down at the one to set up fourth down. Wyatt Rush took it the rest of the way as once again North Nodaway overextended and Worth County got on the board with 12.1 seconds left, trailing 8-6.
Wyatt Rush had two pass breakups on the next series and North Nodaway struggled with their long snapping game as well as they were forced to punt. Wyatt got a big surge from the line and took it 45 yards to the house with 11:36 left in the second to make it 12-8. But North Nodaway got it right back as there were too many defensive breakdowns on the next series and Dakota Smyser caught a 23 yard pass from Reynolds to put North Nodaway back up 14-12 with 9:10 left.
North Nodaway threatened to take control of the game following another bad snap from the Tigers and another three and out. They drove all the way down to the Tiger 5; however, Nate Pointer picked off a pass in the end zone to keep North Nodaway off the board. A score could have made it a two possession game in North Nodaway's favor.
From there, Wyatt Rush broke a host of tackles to the 26 and then weaved his way to the Tiger 38. He took the third straight handoff, hurdled two defenders, and ran to the 11 for 31 more yards.A six yard keeper from Ben Badell and two more cracks from Wyatt put the Tigers up to stay and Wyatt ran in the extra points to make it 20-14.
Ben Badell got a pick to put the Tigers in good field position at their own 35. That was North Nodaway's fourth turnover of the game. Two plays later, Wyatt was off to the races again, ripping off 45 more yards for a score with 3:18 left to put the Tigers up 26-14.
North Nodaway buried themselves with a holding penalty on the next series. Shadow Briner had a quarterback hurry on the series and Lane Craven partially blocked a punt that set up the Tigers on their own 35 with plenty of time to make it three possessions. Wyatt Rush ripped off 33 more yards to the 12 behind a block from Austin Carlson and then picked up three more to the 9. Ben Badell took it the rest of the way to put Worth County up three possessions at 32-14 with 36.1 seconds left. Ben managed the clock perfectly on the series, directing the Tigers down the field while leaving North Nodaway with too little time to score again right before the half. North Nodaway made it into Tiger territory, but Nate Pointer got a sack to kill the drive.
By the half, Wyatt Rush had 225 yards on 27 carries. But with North Nodaway keying on Wyatt in the second, Nate Pointer got the bulk of the carries although Wyatt was constantly a threat. North Nodaway had four turnovers to prevent them from answering effectively.
But the Mustangs got new life in the second half thanks to a botched kickoff that barely rolled off the tee. By rule the ball is spotted where it lands if it does not travel the required 10 yards. North Nodaway took full advantage of the momentum-changing play, cutting it to 32-22 and it was a track meet between the two teams for the rest of the game.
North Nodaway returned the favor on the next kickoff and Worth County got the ball on the Mustang 32. They took full advantage of the gift. With Wyatt Rush and Nate Pointer carrying the load, the Tigers moved down to the 9, where Andrew Mullock got a 9 yard touchdown following a Wyatt Rush block to make it 38-22 with 9:03 left.
North Nodaway could get nowhere on their next series as Truman Moore got a sack and they were forced to punt. Andrew Mullock made a touchdown saving tackle as he made a shoestring grab of Reynolds trying to scramble for yardage; had he not made the play, Reynolds would have been gone. The ensuing punt came under a heavy rush and it was shanked, giving Worth County a short field to work with at the Mustang 35. With everyone keying on Wyatt, nobody was covering Mullock, who caught a perfect swing pass from Ben Badell for a 31 yard score that made it 46-22 with 6:09 left in the third. It was similar to the swing pass against Stanberry that broke their backs last year.
Neither team could get anything else going for the rest of the quarter, but a roughing the passer call against Worth County gave North Nodaway new life, which they converted into a score with 10:56 left in the fourth quarter to make it 46-28. Ben Badell had a key pass breakup on the extra point that kept it a three possession game.
North Nodaway, at this point, went to their onside kick. There was method to their strategy besides trying to get the ball back; the short field meant that Worth County would take less time off the clock to score instead of taking a long time off from, say, their own 15. Jacob Hardy pounced on this one at the 39, and Ben Badell's keeper behind a Truman Moore block got 26 yards down to the Mustang 8. Three cracks from Wyatt got only to the one; however, Ben Badell, who really wanted the ball on the series, converted a fourth down sneak to put the Tigers up as Josh Warner pushed him into the end zone. That is one of those actions that is illegal and is frequently done, yet is rarely called by the officials. Wyatt Rush and Lane Craven formed a perfect wall for Ben Badell to run in the extra points to put Worth County up 54-28.
North Nodaway went to the long bomb and they used a 53 yard pass to Dakota Smyser to set up a five yard run from Reynolds to make it 54-34 with 8:09 left. But this time, the onside kick backfired as Lane Craven scooped it up and returned it to the Mustang 25, nearly breaking one in the process. Worth County only needed one play to answer as Nate Pointer got a Wyatt Rush block and got 25 yards to make it 60-34 with 7:55 left.
This time, kickoff coverage turned out to be an area in need of improvement as the Tigers gave up the first of two long runbacks. Fred Rios ran back the kickoff to the Tiger 22 and Dakota Chestnut caught a long pass with 6:47 left to make it 60-40. The onside kick was fumbled around until Wyatt pounced on it at the Mustang 36; a few plays later, Ben Badell threw a long strike to Chris Alarcon from 24 yards out with 4:49 to make it 66-40. Another breakdown on kickoff coverage led to another Rios runback, this time to the 9. That set up a pass to Chestnut that made it 66-48 with 3:48 left. Wyatt Rush broke his final run of the evening, bouncing outside and getting a 32 yard score to make it 72-48. North Nodaway used some trickery to get their final score of the night, a reverse pass from Dakota Smyser to Dakota Chestnut from 38 yards out to make it 72-54 with 1:12 left before Worth County was finally able to run out the clock for the win.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Randall Evans Convicted of First Degree Murder
Randall Evans was convicted Friday morning of the murder of Danny Wolf in 2011 by a Worth County jury. The trial lasted four days. Jury selection took place on Tuesday while the trial took place on Wednesday and Thursday. The jury took most of the morning to consider the verdict before returning with the conviction just before noon. The case had been moved to Worth County from Gentry County on a change of venue.
Gentry County Prosecutor Jerry Biggs was the prosecutor for the case, assisted by Tim Anderson and Lauren Barnett from the Missouri Attorney General's Office. Janet Wake Larison was the attorney for the defendant. Biggs said after the trial was over that it was a just verdict and that he was sorry for the tragedy to both families. Larison's office declined to comment.
Information filed by the Gentry County Prosecutor's office alleged that Evans shot Wolf in Evans' kitchen back in 2011. The St. Joseph News-Press reported in their online edition that Biggs' case pointed to ballistics evidence, blood stains, and witness testimony that he said established the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Larison, according to the News-Press story, argued that Wolf had disappeared because of a marriage proposal that was turned down and that the blood in question may have come from processing deer. The body of Mr. Wolf was never found.
The case was the first murder trial in Worth County since 1990. Security was tight at the trial, with the east entrance of the Courthouse blocked off. All persons going to the second floor of the Courthouse were required to undergo a security scan before going upstairs during the trial. Security was tight at the 1990 murder trial as well. Security measures for jury trials are decided on a case by case basis.
Sentencing for Mr. Evans has been set for November 7th.
Gentry County Prosecutor Jerry Biggs was the prosecutor for the case, assisted by Tim Anderson and Lauren Barnett from the Missouri Attorney General's Office. Janet Wake Larison was the attorney for the defendant. Biggs said after the trial was over that it was a just verdict and that he was sorry for the tragedy to both families. Larison's office declined to comment.
Information filed by the Gentry County Prosecutor's office alleged that Evans shot Wolf in Evans' kitchen back in 2011. The St. Joseph News-Press reported in their online edition that Biggs' case pointed to ballistics evidence, blood stains, and witness testimony that he said established the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Larison, according to the News-Press story, argued that Wolf had disappeared because of a marriage proposal that was turned down and that the blood in question may have come from processing deer. The body of Mr. Wolf was never found.
The case was the first murder trial in Worth County since 1990. Security was tight at the trial, with the east entrance of the Courthouse blocked off. All persons going to the second floor of the Courthouse were required to undergo a security scan before going upstairs during the trial. Security was tight at the 1990 murder trial as well. Security measures for jury trials are decided on a case by case basis.
Sentencing for Mr. Evans has been set for November 7th.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Grace Schottel Fans 12 Mustang Batters
Grace Schottel struck out 12 North Nodaway batters Wednesday evening and the Worth County Junior High softball team won the second of back to back encounters, 14-3. They played the third game in three nights in a row Thursday night, traveling to Maysville.
Worth County gave Grace all the runs she would need in the first inning and Schottel helped herself out with a hit. Grace McElvain added another single and a series of walks and wild pitches put Worth County up 2-0. Haley Hunt got a third run on a delayed steal of home and Jessi Badell's single plated McElvain and Emily Thomas to make it 5-0.
North Nodaway got two back as #20 crushed one to center field to bring in two and make it 5-2, but from there, Grace got stronger as the game progressed. She was changing speeds throughout the game, throwing her change at any time in the count and adjusting to the umpire's strike zone after the first inning.
Mollie Blaine hit a chopper off the pitcher's glove into center field to score Abbi Caddenhead and later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 7-2. The backstop was playing havoc with the Mustang catchers all night. The backstop is wooden and the caroms off of it are very unpredictable; some will bounce right back to the catcher and some will bounce 30 feet away. Worth County catcher Haley Hunt did the best thing one can do in that situation; she was able to keep the ball from getting to the backstop and Grace Schottel did her part by throwing strikes for the most part. When Haley Hunt came out after a collision at first, Grace McElvain stepped in and caught in the 4th and 5th.
Grace Schottel struck out her 4th and 5th batters in the second and Emily Thomas caught a pop fly at third, putting both hands on the ball to do so.
Worth County scored six more and batted around in the third as this time, North Nodaway could not blame the crazy backstop as most of their wounds were self-inflicted. Emily Thomas beat out a slow chopper that the third baseman threw away, moving her to second. Emily went to third on a passed ball and Jessi Badell walked and stole. That put runners on second and third. That was when the havoc started. Kennedy Galanakis reached on a dropped third strike and Emily Thomas broke for home and was safe as Badell toook third. Then, Kennedy Galanakis took off for second while the catcher still had the ball and nobody covered second or talked as the throw hit Kennedy as Badell scored on the play. Two walks and a groundout from Mollie Blaine scored Kennedy and then Grace Schottel reached on a dropped throw that rolled away for a two-base error as Abbi Caddenhead and Mollie Blaine scored on the play.
Grace Schottel wreaked her own havoc on the basepaths, constantly getting huge leads off base and daring the pitcher and catcher to throw her out; she finally got a delayed steal of third as the ball was being returned to the pitcher. She then did the same thing from third and drew several throws but it didn't matter as she scored on a wild pitch to make it 13-2. Grace walked in a run in the fourth for Worth County's final run as Mattie Downing scored.
Worth County gave Grace all the runs she would need in the first inning and Schottel helped herself out with a hit. Grace McElvain added another single and a series of walks and wild pitches put Worth County up 2-0. Haley Hunt got a third run on a delayed steal of home and Jessi Badell's single plated McElvain and Emily Thomas to make it 5-0.
North Nodaway got two back as #20 crushed one to center field to bring in two and make it 5-2, but from there, Grace got stronger as the game progressed. She was changing speeds throughout the game, throwing her change at any time in the count and adjusting to the umpire's strike zone after the first inning.
Mollie Blaine hit a chopper off the pitcher's glove into center field to score Abbi Caddenhead and later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 7-2. The backstop was playing havoc with the Mustang catchers all night. The backstop is wooden and the caroms off of it are very unpredictable; some will bounce right back to the catcher and some will bounce 30 feet away. Worth County catcher Haley Hunt did the best thing one can do in that situation; she was able to keep the ball from getting to the backstop and Grace Schottel did her part by throwing strikes for the most part. When Haley Hunt came out after a collision at first, Grace McElvain stepped in and caught in the 4th and 5th.
Grace Schottel struck out her 4th and 5th batters in the second and Emily Thomas caught a pop fly at third, putting both hands on the ball to do so.
Worth County scored six more and batted around in the third as this time, North Nodaway could not blame the crazy backstop as most of their wounds were self-inflicted. Emily Thomas beat out a slow chopper that the third baseman threw away, moving her to second. Emily went to third on a passed ball and Jessi Badell walked and stole. That put runners on second and third. That was when the havoc started. Kennedy Galanakis reached on a dropped third strike and Emily Thomas broke for home and was safe as Badell toook third. Then, Kennedy Galanakis took off for second while the catcher still had the ball and nobody covered second or talked as the throw hit Kennedy as Badell scored on the play. Two walks and a groundout from Mollie Blaine scored Kennedy and then Grace Schottel reached on a dropped throw that rolled away for a two-base error as Abbi Caddenhead and Mollie Blaine scored on the play.
Grace Schottel wreaked her own havoc on the basepaths, constantly getting huge leads off base and daring the pitcher and catcher to throw her out; she finally got a delayed steal of third as the ball was being returned to the pitcher. She then did the same thing from third and drew several throws but it didn't matter as she scored on a wild pitch to make it 13-2. Grace walked in a run in the fourth for Worth County's final run as Mattie Downing scored.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Junior High Girls Fall Short to King City in Extra Innings
Worth County's Junior High girls have been playing much better than their record. However, pitted against tough opposition all year, they have dropped a lot of close games this year, including a 10-6 loss to King City in extra innings. Time for the game expired in the 5th inning; however, the teams needed two extra innings to complete the game.
Worth County fell into an early 3-0 hole to King City. The first meeting between the two teams had been a 3-0 pitching duel won by the Wildkats. However, this game was much higher scoring as the hitting for both teams had improved since the first meeting. Worth County got one run back off an illegal pitch when King City's pitcher started and stopped her motion. It is the equivalent of a balk in baseball; Grace McElvain came across the plate to score.
Grace McElvain caught two fly balls in right field and catcher Haley Hunt picked two runners off third and caught two pop flies. Emily Thomas added a catch at third.
Mollie Blaine singled and later scored on Grace Schottel's single to make it 3-2. But it all seemed for naught when King City scored two in the fifth to make it 5-2.
But Grace McElvain grounded out to second and both Haley Hunt and Grace Schottel scored on the play to make it 5-4 as King City tried to trade a run for an out and wound up giving up two. Emily Thomas grounded out, but Jessi Badell singled and stole second to restart Worth County's inning and Kennedy Galanakis reached on an error by the pitcher as Jessi scored to tie it at 5.
Worth County loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth but could not score thanks to a called third strike and a popup to end the inning. All hell broke loose in the 7th as King City timed and crushed the ball on their way to five runs in the frame. It would have been worse had it not been for Haley Hunt's pickoff of a King City runner. Worth County got one back when Kennedy Galanakis bunted out to the catcher to score Jessi Badell.
"I'm proud of how you battled back when nobody expected us to do so," said Coach April Healy to her players after the game.
The B team lost 6-3 in the nightcap in two innings. Darbi Weddle caught a fly ball in right. Sadie Dye scored two runs for the reserves, both on dropped third strikes that were thrown away. Ashlyn Barnett reached on an infield single to drive in the other run.
Worth County fell into an early 3-0 hole to King City. The first meeting between the two teams had been a 3-0 pitching duel won by the Wildkats. However, this game was much higher scoring as the hitting for both teams had improved since the first meeting. Worth County got one run back off an illegal pitch when King City's pitcher started and stopped her motion. It is the equivalent of a balk in baseball; Grace McElvain came across the plate to score.
Grace McElvain caught two fly balls in right field and catcher Haley Hunt picked two runners off third and caught two pop flies. Emily Thomas added a catch at third.
Mollie Blaine singled and later scored on Grace Schottel's single to make it 3-2. But it all seemed for naught when King City scored two in the fifth to make it 5-2.
But Grace McElvain grounded out to second and both Haley Hunt and Grace Schottel scored on the play to make it 5-4 as King City tried to trade a run for an out and wound up giving up two. Emily Thomas grounded out, but Jessi Badell singled and stole second to restart Worth County's inning and Kennedy Galanakis reached on an error by the pitcher as Jessi scored to tie it at 5.
Worth County loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth but could not score thanks to a called third strike and a popup to end the inning. All hell broke loose in the 7th as King City timed and crushed the ball on their way to five runs in the frame. It would have been worse had it not been for Haley Hunt's pickoff of a King City runner. Worth County got one back when Kennedy Galanakis bunted out to the catcher to score Jessi Badell.
"I'm proud of how you battled back when nobody expected us to do so," said Coach April Healy to her players after the game.
The B team lost 6-3 in the nightcap in two innings. Darbi Weddle caught a fly ball in right. Sadie Dye scored two runs for the reserves, both on dropped third strikes that were thrown away. Ashlyn Barnett reached on an infield single to drive in the other run.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
'Lil Tigers Drop Two in Bedford
Both 'Lil Tiger teams were scored on for the first time this year and dropped games in Bedford this year. The A team lost to Bedford 25-0 while the B team lost to Creston 25-18.
The B team game was close all the way. Creston had a back, #5, who was too quick for the Tigers to catch; he broke loose for a 65 yard touchdown on the first play of the game. That put them up 6-0. From there, Worth County played catchup the rest of the way although they almost made up a two possession deficit in the second half. But the Tigers had too many penalties on the afternoon and it got to the point where the officials were looking for something wrong.
Worth County marched right back down the field as Aydan Gladstone ripped off an 11 yard gain and Alex Rinehart broke a host of tackles to get a 21 yard gain to the Creston 33. Rinehart converted a fourth and one to the 18 and that set up a Rinehart touchdown with 2:59 left in the first quarter to tie it up at 6. But once again, #5 got loose again and the speedy Creston back got loose for a 32 yard score to put the Panthers up for good at 13-6. Creston threatened to score again before half, but consecutive tackles for loss by Cooper Simmons thwarted the drive and it was still one possession.
But Creston threatened to take control of the game in the third quarter as they took their first possession in for a score as #5 got loose again for the Panthers with 8:41. But then Alex Rinehart made the play of the day. He was seemingly stood up after a short gain, but the whistle never blew and Rinehart broke free for a 50 yard score that put the Tigers right back in the game at 19-12 with 6:35 left.
Creston fumbled the ball right back to the Tigers as Nathan Adwell got the recovery for the Tigers. Worth County took advantage as a short sneak play by Aydan Gladstone turned into a 16 yard touchdown scamper with 2:45 left in the third. But Rinehart was stopped short of the goal line on the tying extra point play and Creston still led 19-18.
A horsecollar penalty on Creston moved the ball to midfield for the Tigers, but a block in the back penalty wiped out a long run that could have put the Tigers ahead and they gave the ball back on downs. #5 scored on yet another long scamper, a 52 yard run in the closing minutes and then got a pick to help Creston run out the clock.
The A team fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and lost 25-0 to Bedford. The Bulldogs scored on the ensuing series and the game settled into a defensive struggle as both teams were stymied by stingy defenses and an officiating crew that was calling everything on both teams. John Mancuso had an interception that stopped a Bedford drive in the first half and kept it at 6-0. But the offense could not make any headway against a team that was much bigger and quicker and they could only muster one first down in the half.
Bedford made a momentum changing play at the end of the first half when they scored on the last play of the half to make it 13-0 and then got the ball to start the second half and scored on the opening drive to make it 19-0.
Worth County finally started finding success as Hayden Holmes ripped off a first down run for 10 yards and the Tigers finally crossed into Bedford territory. Hayden added a 35-yard scamper early in the fourth. But Bedford added another score with 5:30 left to make it 25-0. Chance Barber caught a 15 yard pass in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
The B team game was close all the way. Creston had a back, #5, who was too quick for the Tigers to catch; he broke loose for a 65 yard touchdown on the first play of the game. That put them up 6-0. From there, Worth County played catchup the rest of the way although they almost made up a two possession deficit in the second half. But the Tigers had too many penalties on the afternoon and it got to the point where the officials were looking for something wrong.
Worth County marched right back down the field as Aydan Gladstone ripped off an 11 yard gain and Alex Rinehart broke a host of tackles to get a 21 yard gain to the Creston 33. Rinehart converted a fourth and one to the 18 and that set up a Rinehart touchdown with 2:59 left in the first quarter to tie it up at 6. But once again, #5 got loose again and the speedy Creston back got loose for a 32 yard score to put the Panthers up for good at 13-6. Creston threatened to score again before half, but consecutive tackles for loss by Cooper Simmons thwarted the drive and it was still one possession.
But Creston threatened to take control of the game in the third quarter as they took their first possession in for a score as #5 got loose again for the Panthers with 8:41. But then Alex Rinehart made the play of the day. He was seemingly stood up after a short gain, but the whistle never blew and Rinehart broke free for a 50 yard score that put the Tigers right back in the game at 19-12 with 6:35 left.
Creston fumbled the ball right back to the Tigers as Nathan Adwell got the recovery for the Tigers. Worth County took advantage as a short sneak play by Aydan Gladstone turned into a 16 yard touchdown scamper with 2:45 left in the third. But Rinehart was stopped short of the goal line on the tying extra point play and Creston still led 19-18.
A horsecollar penalty on Creston moved the ball to midfield for the Tigers, but a block in the back penalty wiped out a long run that could have put the Tigers ahead and they gave the ball back on downs. #5 scored on yet another long scamper, a 52 yard run in the closing minutes and then got a pick to help Creston run out the clock.
The A team fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and lost 25-0 to Bedford. The Bulldogs scored on the ensuing series and the game settled into a defensive struggle as both teams were stymied by stingy defenses and an officiating crew that was calling everything on both teams. John Mancuso had an interception that stopped a Bedford drive in the first half and kept it at 6-0. But the offense could not make any headway against a team that was much bigger and quicker and they could only muster one first down in the half.
Bedford made a momentum changing play at the end of the first half when they scored on the last play of the half to make it 13-0 and then got the ball to start the second half and scored on the opening drive to make it 19-0.
Worth County finally started finding success as Hayden Holmes ripped off a first down run for 10 yards and the Tigers finally crossed into Bedford territory. Hayden added a 35-yard scamper early in the fourth. But Bedford added another score with 5:30 left to make it 25-0. Chance Barber caught a 15 yard pass in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
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