It felt like districts came early for Community R-6 softball on Sept. 23 at home.
In a game between the two highest winning percentages in Class 1 District 4, state No. 6 Community lost 8-4 to …
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It felt like districts came early for Community R-6 softball on Sept. 23 at home.
In a game between the two highest winning percentages in Class 1 District 4, state No. 6 Community lost 8-4 to No. 8 Silex (11-2) in the battle for the No. 1 seed in October’s tournament at Van-Far. The Lady Trojans (13-6) equaled Silex’s seven hits while facing senior all-state pitcher Rylan Harris but allowed six unearned runs via seven errors.
Head coach Jeff Angel said he told his team it would come down to three or four plays, and Community made two stellar defensive plays at crucial times that unfortunately didn’t outnumber the errors.
"We never fulfilled the four, but we got two and they were game changers,” Angel said. “We know there are going to be errors in softball. We just want to cut them down to a really low minimum. Tonight wasn't the case. I think the kids were really hyped up. I'm not making excuses, but in a game like this, this is a big game."
Catcher Maci Poindexter leaped against the backstop fence to catch a pop fly for the third out in the third inning to leave a runner at third base with Community ahead 2-1. In the next inning, Kaytlynn Arens snagged a ground ball at shortstop and flipped to third base for the forceout to leave the bases loaded with Community still ahead 2-1.
“That was a lifesaver,” Poindexter said. “I was like, ‘Just find the ball, glove out and catch it.”
Kylie Twellman was the one who fouled out to Poindexter, but she hit the ball out of play in her next at bat in the form of a three-RBI home run to put Silex ahead 4-2 in the fifth inning. She finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
Community responded in the bottom half of the fifth inning with five straight batters reaching base, including RBI hits by Myla Carroll and Poindexter. The Nos. 3-5 hitters for the Lady Trojans recorded hits against Harris as Alexis Schafer was 2-for-4, Myla Carroll was 2-for-3 with one RBI and a double, and Poindexter was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
“If we’re hitting her and putting the ball in play to make them make plays, that’s a lot easier than players just standing there having to watch strike three,” Angel said. “That by far is the best pitcher we’ve seen all year long. I’m happy we made the contact that we did. That should give the girls a spark right there.”
When mistakes did happen, Poindexter said Community did well moving on to the next play and next inning.
“Right after they hit that home run, I was like, ‘There’s nothing we can do about that,’” Poindexter said. “We just have to restart and go back to first pitch. If it comes to you, make the play. Make it simple. We did and came back with our bats.”
Even before Poindexter entered high school last season, the rivalry with Silex was already ingrained in her and the other Lady Trojans. She said Silex was “the team to beat in junior high.” That has also been the case at the high school level, with Silex now winning three of the previous four and the lowest margin being five runs.
“For years, they’ve always been our rival,” Poindexter said. “We went in thinking it’s not a conference game, but it’s a district game so we’ve got to play to our best potential and stay up the entire game, which we did.”
Angel said Silex is one of the best teams Community has on its schedule and is tough to beat because they are well-coached and don’t make many mistakes. The Lady Owls have eight seniors on their roster, including three returning all-state players.
He added Schafer looked good and pitched well enough to win. Angel hopes his team can advance to the district championship game, which could have Silex as the opponent, and also hopes the result will be different after the Lady Trojans limit their mistakes.
“We each got a look at what we’re going to see,” Angel said. “Nobody is going to be surprised. Hopefully, we get another shot at them. We had our hands full tonight, but I thought we responded pretty well.”
Community is now 15-8 after going 1-2 in Saturday’s Paris tournament with an 8-2 win over South Shelby but a 4-0 loss to district foe Paris and 6-5 loss to Mark Twain. The Lady Trojans lost 18-3 at Mark Twain (10-6) on Monday.
