Last week’s game full of important games started well for Community R-6 softball, but Thursday was a challenge at first.
The Class 1 No. 6 Lady Trojans trailed district foe Westran 3-0 after …
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Last week’s game full of important games started well for Community R-6 softball, but Thursday was a challenge at first.
The Class 1 No. 6 Lady Trojans trailed district foe Westran 3-0 after one half inning at home but eventually won 13-5 to get revenge for a 5-3 loss on the previous Saturday. Community (11-2) finished with four errors on Thursday, but three of them happened in the first inning.
Head coach Jeff Angel said the defense wasn’t backing up starting pitcher Myla Carroll, so he opted to make an early change to Alexis Schafer, who pitched 5 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts, seven hits, two earned runs and one walk. Angel said Community wanted to avoid an early hole like what happened against Westran (6-8) in the New Franklin tournament.
“At the tournament, we came out really flat," Angel said. "We hit balls right at people, but they just made plays. We committed six errors. We got off to a slow start with no energy."
Angel said the momentum swung back in Community’s favor starting with the four-run Lady Trojan first inning thanks to three Westran errors.
Kaytlynn Arens is a sophomore who started hitting leadoff this season following a freshman year near the bottom of the order. Arens went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs and extended her hitting streak to six games.
“Every game, we come out a little bit flat,” Arens said. “We always come back or at least try to. The energy stays high, and that’s always nice.”
Ana McLeod and Maci Poindexter each had two RBIs, Carroll went 2-for-4 with two runs, and Schafer went 2-for-4 with three runs. Lydia Hoyt, Emma Morgan and Macy Woodside each had RBI singles.
Arens tries to give the Community offense a good start each game, and that has turned into plenty of runs most nights. The Lady Trojans averaged 9.7 runs through their first 12 games for a five-year high.
“It’s a big change in the order, but every at bat is the same,” Arens said. “You’re doing the same thing every single at bat. I just want to get on base and get a rally started for my team.”
Angel said Arens is a good fit for the leadoff spot because she puts the ball in play a lot. He said she always expects more out of herself, and that applies to many of these girls.
“I love that,” Angel said. “If you have a kid like that, they never settle.”
Community can’t settle and take it easy because of the streak of important opponents it has over a short period of time. The Lady Trojans beat Cairo 9-0 and Slater 2-0 for two Central Activities Conference wins, but then they had a conference and district foe Sturgeon on the road Friday and conference foe New Franklin at home Monday. They host Class 1 No. 8 Silex at 5 p.m. tonight before hosting conference and district foe Madison at the same time on Thursday.
Arens said the Lady Trojans make sure they are rested and hydrated but also focused on taking care of business that particular night. Angel agreed and said the girls can’t make mistakes that loom large in tight games.
“We want to correct some things and make some adjustments on defense,” Angel said. “When you have a big lead (like Thursday), it doesn't hurt you as much, but when you’re in a one-run game with a Silex or Montgomery County, they’re going to make you pay.”
Community lost its first conference game 2-0 on Friday at Sturgeon in a game with three hits for each side. Schafer struck out 14 in six innings, and Sturgeon’s Peyton Dotson struck out 12 in seven innings with four walks.
The Lady Trojans then finished sixth in Saturday’s Cairo tournament after losing 8-7 to Palmyra, winning 14-0 against La Plata and losing 15-4 to Cairo. Arens was 6-for-12 with four runs and two RBIs over the three games, and McLeod finished four RBIs and reached base via hit in each game.
On Monday, Community came up with its second win over conference foe New Franklin (4-9) with a 9-1 victory at home to move to 11-4. The Lady Trojans tallied 14 hits, including a 4-for-4 game by Poindexter with three RBIs, a 2-for-3 day for Schafer with two RBIs and a 3-for-5 game by Arens. Schafer allowed three hits and three walks and struck out nine in seven innings.
