Owen County scored 12 runs in the first quarter and never let up in a convincing 19-1 victory over Eminence in three innings on Tuesday, March 26.
“We had some positives, and we had a lot of girls step up to the plate wanting to hit. It just didn’t connect,” said head coach Taylor Baker. “Defensively and offensively, we just have to get better overall.”
Hannah Howard kicked off the high-scoring opening frame with a run on a passed ball with the bases loaded.
During the next at-bat, Hallie Tirey came across home on a wild pitch to push the lead to 2-0.
The Lady Rebels kept the momentum going and Andi Baumann drew a bases-loaded walk to send Abigayle Dempsey home for the third run of the inning.
Rachel Howard and Shaylee Glacken took advantage of wild pitches with Lexie Chappell at the plate to boost Owen County’s lead to 5-0.
The Lady Rebels tacked on two more runs during the following at-bat. The Warriors’ throw from home to second for an out went off the mark, allowing Baumann and Maison Hedger to score and extend the Owen County advantage to 7-0.
Allie Settles got in on the action and scored on a ground out to move the margin to 8-0.
A pair of walks put two runners on board later in the inning, and Rachel Howard brought in Hannah Howard with an RBI single to center field for the ninth run of the frame.
Glacken followed with a strong double to left field, allowing Dempsey and Rachel Howard to score and put Owen County in front by 11 runs.
Glacken closed out the inning by scoring on a wild pitch to give the Lady Rebels a comfortable 12-0 edge.
Eminence led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right field by Matti Tillett, but Owen County quickly turned out two ground outs and a strikeout to keep the Warriors off the board.
The Lady Rebels furthered their momentum from the opening inning and scored five runs in the second inning.
Settles scored on a wild pitch and Hannah Howard launched an RBI double to left field to send Kaileigh Gibson home for the 14th run of the evening.
Hannah Howard capitalized on another wild pitch from Eminence to put Owen County ahead 15-0, and Tirey followed suit two plays later to push the lead out to 16-0.
During the next at-bat, Glacken earned an RBI single to center field after Rylee Smith and Tiffany Myres collided while pursuing the hit to bring the margin to 17-0.
The Warriors put Myres and Lillian Payton on base in the bottom of the second on a hit by pitch and a walk, but Hannah Howard left both players stranded with two strikeouts to conclude the frame.
The Lady Rebels brought in two runs in the top of the third to go ahead 19-0 before Eminence avoided a shutout in the bottom half of the inning.
Tillett scored late in the frame before Owen County clamped down defensively to end the game.
Despite the loss, Baker has seen small improvements in her team from the first game of the season until now.
“I see some little things. I’ve seen them start to realize parts of the game of softball. It’s just getting it all together,” said Baker.
The Warriors fell to 1-3 ahead of another matchup with the Lady Rebels on the road on Thursday, March 28. Owen County defeated Eminence 18-3.
