By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — On Thursday night, Southwestern struggled on both offense and defense. On Friday night, it was just the opposite. The Lady Warriors’ pitching, defense, and hitting, was on all cylinders for head coach Jim Woodall. His club defeated the likes of Knox Central and Lloyd Memorial to improve to 8-3 on the season in day one of the Keith Blair Memorial at The War Path.
In the opener, Southwestern defeated the Lady Panthers of Knox Central 5-2 with Leanze Jones on the mound.
The Lady Panthers struck first in this one. Cassie Tye belted a home run to left center to take a 2-0 lead in the top part of the second inning. That was the only blemish for Jones and company in the contest.
Southwestern matched Knox Central with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of three Lady Panther errors.
Jones and Lady Warrior counterparts held Knox Central hitless for the next three innings.
The Lady Warriors took the lead for the remainder of the contest in the bottom of the fourth. After Erin Carter reached base on an error, Chelsea Malicoat stepped to the plate with two outs and singled to left field, scoring Carter.
In the fifth inning, Southwestern tallied two more runs to go ahead 5-2. After a Jones single, a Micah Tarter sacrifice bunt allowed Jones to move to third. Destiny Molden hit a double to the fence, scoring Jones. Molden would later score thanks to back-to-singles from Carter and Andrea Keeney.
The Lady Warriors held on, to win 5-2 in six innings.
Jones picked up the victory for the Lady Warriors, allowing two hits and striking out seven batters in six innings of work.
Knox Central’s Johnna Yeager was credited with the loss, giving up eight hits in the contest.
Leanze Jones and Chelsea Malicoat led the charge, as each finished the contest with a pair of singles.
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In the night cap, the Lady Warriors picked up a 5-1 victory in five innings over the Lloyd Memorial Lady Juggernauts. This game went late into the night, as three players left the game early due to injuries - two were taken to the hospital to be treated.
Southwestern pitcher Sydney Fourman was victorious in this one, striking out ten batters in five innings on the mound. The eighth-grader gave up three hits and one earned run in the win.
A scary moment occurred in the opening inning of play when Lady Warrior left fielder Andrea Keeney was running for a fly ball in foul territory. The ball missed her glove and hit her just above the eyebrow. Keeney was taken to the hospital, where she was treated with twelve stitches.
“Andrea, she had to get twelve stitches right above her eyebrow,” Woodall said. “Bless her heart, she gave it all she had out there. I don’t know if she lost it in the lights or what.”
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, Southwestern responded with three runs to jump out to a 3-1 lead. Back-to-back sacrifice bunts by Meghan Halcomb and Jones allowed Malicoat to scoot home. After Tarter was walked, Molden delivered another big hit - this time an RBI triple. Fourman hit a double to score Molden, giving the Lady Warriors a two-run advantage.
In the fourth frame, another scary incident happened - this time to Lady Juggernaut first baseman Kearstin Mains. Mains grounded out, as she was called out at the base, she fell. Upon falling, she injured her knee. She was also taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a bruised knee.
The Lady Warriors added two more runs in the fifth. Meghan Halcomb had a sacrifice bunt that moved Malicoat around the base path. Jones then picked up an RBI single, giving the Lady Warriors a 4-1 lead. Jones would shortly score on a passed ball, running the total to 5-1.
The game was called after five innings, with Southwestern winning 5-1 over the Lady Juggernauts of Lloyd Memorial.
Woodall was pleased with his team’s performance, a night after a 9-1 setback to Clinton County.
“It was better than last night,” said the Lady Warrior head coach. “They showed up with defense, and our offense got going a little bit. We got some good timely hits. All-in-all, it was a good night.”
Staci Stewart, of Lloyd Memorial, picked up the loss, walking four batters while striking out three.
Hits were at a premium in this game, as both teams finished with three hits.
Jones, Molden, and Fourman accounted for all of Southwestern’s hits. Molden had a triple, Fourman hit a two-bagger, and Jones contributed with a single.
Molden, with a broken thumb, came up with big hits all night. The seventh-grader finished with a double and a triple in the two games.
Southwestern’s pitching tandem of Leanze Jones and Sydney Fourman were simply on in each contest. The pair combined for 17 strike-outs, and allowed only five hits in both games.
“Our pitchers kept everybody at bay,” stated Woodall of his strong pitching staff.
A lot of new faces started for Southwestern on Friday night. Freshmen Megan Burchett got the nod at third while others played new positions.
“We tried some new girls at different positions out there with (Megan) Burchett,” explained Woodall. “We mixed our outfield up a little bit, too. I thought (Destiny) Molden did a good job out there with her broken thumb.”
The Lady Warriors continued play yesterday in the Keith Blair Memorial, but will return to action on Tuesday night, as they will travel south to play 48th District opponent McCreary Central.
KC 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 2 2 4
SW 0 2 0 1 2 X - 5 8 1
RBI - Malicoat, Molden (SW). Tye (KC).
2B - Molden (SW).
HR - Tye (KC).
WP - Jones (SW).
LP - Yeager (KC).
LM 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 2
SW 3 0 0 0 2 - 5 3 0
RBI - Martin (LM). Jones, Molden, Fourman (SW).
2B - Garant (LM). Fourman (SW).
3B - Molden (SW).
WP - Fourman (SW).
LP - Stewart (LM).
