On the strength of a rare offensive performance by junior Makinley Aaron, the Houston High School softball team won 13-2 in a South Central Association conference game last Thursday at Thayer.
Aaron hit for the cycle in the contest and got on base in all 5 of her trips to the plate, going 4-for-4 with a home run, a triple, a double, a single, a walk and a colossal 8 RBIs. She also scored 3 runs.
The win was Houston’s fifth straight and avenged the squad’s only loss of the season, a 5-3 defeat in the inaugural in-season SCA tournament March 23 at Mountain Grove. During their current winning streak, the Lady Tigers have outscored the opposition 77-17 and amassed 49 hits.
“We’re in a good place right now,” said head coach Jim Moore.
In routing the host Lady Bobcats, Houston scored in 5 different innings, running away with the victory with a 4-run rally in the seventh frame powered by a 3-run home run by Aaron. After earning a base on balls in the first inning, Aaron began her assault with a 2-run single in the second and then added an RBI double in the third, a 2-run triple in the fifth and the big fly in the seventh.
HHS sophomore Lilly Kincaid (playing left field) didn’t have a hit in the game but scored 4 runs and drove in 1.
Senior Kelsey Pritchett was in the pitcher’s circle for Houston and tossed a complete game 2-hitter, allowing only 1 earned run while striking out 11 and walking 3.
The Lady Tigers totaled 7 hits in the contest, but also took advantage of 13 walks.
Aaron’s feat was actually a “natural cycle,” which occurs when the hits come in ascending order. Hers was even more amazing since it was preceded with a walk.
“It’s crazy,” Moore said. “I knew she was having a game, but it didn’t register to me that she had hit for the cycle until the game was over. She may have known, but I did not.
“She was in a zone, and played well defensively, too. It was fun to watch; she didn’t really say anything, but she was smiling ear-to-ear.”
Next up for the Houston (8-1, 3-0 SCA) is an SCA game on Thursday at Cabool. The Lady Tigers will play in a 6-team tournament Saturday at Conway. Houston is in Pool B in the event, along with Licking and Mansfield, while Pool A includes Conway, Spokane and Stoutland. The first game is scheduled for 8 a.m. and the championship game is set for 7:45 p.m.
“I keep telling people that our best ball is still ahead of us,” Moore said. “I know we’re playing well, but we’re still learning the game.”
The Lady Tigers host a huge conference matchup with Ava on Monday. The two teams met in big situations in 2022 and 2023, and the talented Lady Bears and head coach Rex Sawyer will come to Houston with winning on their minds.
“It’s been such a great battle with them,” Moore said, “and coach Sawyer does such a great job. They’re going to be touch, and it’s great to play against competition like that.
“But we can’t get ahead of ourselves; we have a big conference game on Thursday and a tournament on Saturday. But we know who’s coming to town next week, and we just have to try to prepare ourselves and be playing a little bit better than we are now.”
