With plenty on the line with regard to conference championship implications, the Houston High School softball team came up with a huge victory by downing Willow Springs 10-7 Thursday at Carter Field.
The two teams went back-and-forth early on, with the lead changing hands three times before the score ended up tied 4-4 at the end of the third inning.
After neither team scored in the fourth frame, Houston went ahead 5-4 on an unusual fielder’s choice play in the bottom of the fifth in which junior Makinley Aaron, who was at third base, got into a short rundown before diving headlong into home plate following an errant throw.
But the Lady Bears took a 6-5 advantage in the top of the sixth inning, scoring 2 unearned runs when the Lady Tigers committed 2 errors on the same play.
Willow’s lead didn’t last very long, though, as Houston put on a thrilling display of power in the bottom of the frame.
Sophomore Ashley Gilbert led off with a walk, and was replaced on the basepaths by sophomore Natalie Clinton. Moments later, the score was knotted a 6-6 when Clinton came all the way home on a wild pitch followed by a throwing error.
Then with 1 out, a long-ball demonstration took place, as 3 the next 4 batters hit home runs.
Junior Lacey Cavaness began the barrage with a solo shot to center field. Sophomore Lilly Kincaid then got aboard on an error and scored when Aaron launched a 2-run dinger to deep left field. Then senior Kelsey Pritchett stepped into the box and lined a low-screamer to right that left the yard in a big hurry and put Houston ahead 10-6.
The Lady Bears got a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning, but the game ended on a strikeout.
The Lady Tigers had 8 hits in the contest. Aaron went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk, 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored, while sophomore second baseman Katy Evans continued to wield a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a lead-off solo home run that put Houston on the board in the second inning, along with a double and a walk.
Pritchett went the distance in the pitcher’s circle for the Lady Tigers, allowing 4 hits and striking out 7, but issuing 8 walks, hitting 5 batters and throwing 5 wild pitches.
Senior Emma Spence got the start for Willow Springs, allowing 7 hits and 7 earned runs, while fanning 5 and walking 6 before being chased by the homer-fest in the sixth inning. Sophomore Khila Smith finished, allowing a hit and recording a strikeout.
The win put Houston in the driver’s seat for an outright conference crown, as the Lady Tiger go into next week undefeated in SCA play at 7-0 and with an overall record of 14-2. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears dropped to 16-4 overall and 4-2 in the SCA.
SHORT AND SWEET
On Tuesday of this week, the Lady Tigers beat Eminence 15-0 in a 3-inning, run-rule shortened home game.
Houston scored 2 runs in the first inning, 10 in the second and 3 in the third, with a whopping 10 different players scoring at least 1 run.
The Lady Tigers racked up 10 hits in the contest. Pritchett went 2-for-2 at the plate, with a home run (her first of the season), a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored, while Gilbert went 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, 2 RBIs and a run, and junior shortstop Sophia Crites had a pair of singles in 3 at-bats, driving in 2 runs and scoring 3.
Pritchett’s homer was a 2-run a shot to straightaway center field that opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning.
Kincaid pitched for Houston and allowed only 2 hits while striking out 5 and walking only 1.
After 16 games this season, the Lady Tigers have scored in double-figures in 11 outings, have outscored the opposition 182-42 and have a team batting average of .352.
Aaron leads the team’s prolific offense, batting a team-high .560, with team highs of 28 hits and 33 RBIs. Evans is batting .444, with 16 hits, including a team-high 4 homers, 2 triples, 8 doubles and only 2 singles. She has also walked a team-high 19 times. Kincaid is batting .400 with 18 hits and 11 walks.
The Lady Tigers travel to Alton on Monday and wrap up the SCA portion of their schedule by hosting Liberty on Tuesday.
