Van-Far had chances to win the Sept. 24 game at home against Bowling Green but couldn’t quite close it out.
The Lady Indians lost 17-13 in nine innings to Eastern Missouri Conference foe …
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Van-Far had chances to win the Sept. 24 game at home against Bowling Green but couldn’t quite close it out.
The Lady Indians lost 17-13 in nine innings to Eastern Missouri Conference foe Bowling Green (6-10, 2-3 EMO). They trailed for most of the game until taking a 12-11 lead in the sixth inning and then Bowling Green scored the next six runs, including five in the ninth inning, to win Van-Far’s Pink Out game. Donations went to junior Carly Hunn’s mother, Marlo Hunn, and her family as she fights cancer.
Van-Far (3-15, 1-5 EMO) trailed 8-4 and then 11-6 while cycling through four different pitchers, which is how many Bowling Green used. Head coach Cameron Huff said the season didn’t start in a positive way for Van-Far either, beginning with a 1-11 record until the team’s 13-6 win over Scotland County, but girls are starting to recover from injury and gain morale.
“It really comes down to hustle, attitude and effort and that’s what the girls had tonight,” Huff said. “This week was a good week as we picked up a win and then lost a (7-6) game to Mark Twain for the third-place game in North Shelby. We were in games.”
Huff said Van-Far getting healthy and playing more competitive has added up to the team having more morale. He said the Lady Indians have lost five games by three runs or less and now have seven losses by five runs or less following the Bowling Green defeat. The night before, Van-Far won 11-3 at conference foe Louisiana (1-7, 1-5 EMO) after finishing with 15 hits, including eight doubles.
“The attitude is starting to get better,” Huff said. “The morale is starting to get better. We hit the ball well, and we hit the ball well again (on Sept. 24).”
Van-Far hustled to slide in ahead of tags and record forceouts on defense on several “bang-bang” plays against Bowling Green. Huff said some girls also stepped up in “three key moments,” including Kylie Dameron pitching four relief innings with four hits and one earned run and Taelyn Ward going 2-for-3 off the bench. The third was senior catcher Kenya Jones hitting a two-RBI home run in the fourth inning for her career-high third of the year, which preceded four more runs that gave Van-Far its first lead.
Jones said she’s had more home runs this season than her previous three high school seasons. Through Thursday, Jones was hitting .434, slugging .698 and posting an OPS of 1.206. She credits hitting for more power to listening to Huff and being more positive even after a negative play.
“Not dropping my hands or actually watching the ball come in instead of pulling my head like I usually do,” Huff said.
Jones has caught every year and has done it full-time for the previous three seasons. She said she tries to not let defense affect her offense and vice versa, but Jones has become more comfortable with the tough position.
“I’ve gotten better at being stronger back there and mentally tough,” Jones said. “Mental toughness is definitely the key point in catching. A mistake happens in the field, I don’t get down on my teammates. I stay up while doing part in blocking the ball, catching the ball or framing the ball.”
Jones has caught several pitchers this season, which is partly due to one Van-Far’s key injuries to start the season. The No. 1 pitcher last season Adyson Barnett, who went 4-for-6 with three RBIs and two doubles against Bowling Green, has been recovering from a bicep injury, which has kept her away from the circle but not the lineup.
Barnett’s seven innings with seven hits, five strikeouts and one walk was the first time she’s been cut loose, but it was only one of four appearances for her through 18 games. Huff said she has mostly been on a pitch limit to ease her back into it. Dameron, Adrianna Craven and Mylee Keller have stepped up despite pitching varsity innings for the first time this year.
“We have to minimize pitch count right now because it’s not worth blowing her arm up again,” Huff said. “She’s pitching well for us but shout out to Adrianna Craven, Kylie Dameron and Mylee Keller. Those three have kept us in games.”
Van-Far hopes to be playing its best softball by the time it hosts districts in October.
“We’re improving as a team,” Jones said. “The first couple of games, we were working together and then we fell apart. We’re bringing it back together as a team.”
Van-Far won on Senior Night when it defeated conference and district foe Wellsville-Middletown (1-12, 0-6 EMO) 19-9 in five innings to improve to 4-15 and 2-5 in conference. The Lady Indians finished with 12 hits, led by Bryanna Stanich’s performance of 5-for-5 with four RBIs. Jones had two RBIs, Keller had two hits and four runs, and Elliott Utterback had two RBIs to round out the three seniors.
