Busy week sees Raiderettes go 2-1,drop to fourth in rankings
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Above: Channler Henle gears up to make the throw from centerfield to home plate. Henle’s throw was on the money as Abigail Barnes is seen below tagging the runner from third for the third out of the inning to keep Earlham off the board.
Mt. Ayr 15, SWV 3
The Raiderettes traveled to Corning for a contest against Southwest Valley.
As visitors, the Raiderettes took the plate first. Bats were hot for Mount Ayr as they timed up the Timberwolves pitcher, Isabelle Inman.
Mount Ayr saw 15 hits against Inman, including four home-runs.
Rachel Sobotka led off the home runs for Mount Ayr, with two, and batting in three runners on her four at-bats.
“The first home run, I saw the ball really well, but the second time coach Ruggles told me to expect a change-up,” said Sobotka on her two dingers. “I knew if it was in there I was going to hammer on it.”
“A lot of times in girls softball, when you see a home run, the next pitch you see is a change-up,” said coach Bret Ruggles. “I told her to be ready for it, be prepared for it and she was.”
Channler Henle and Alexa Anderson each had a home-run to round-out the homers for the Raiderettes.
Henle saw three at-bats with one run and one RBI.
Anderson saw two at-bats, two runs and two RBI.
Addy Reynolds stepped back into the circle for Mount Ayr, pitching four innings, allowing three runs and striking-out two.
Alexa Anderson came in during the fifth innning allowing two hits and striking-out two, finishing the game.
“I told the girls I wanted to hear their roar on the bat, on the bases, in the dugout,” said coach Ruggles. “We did that. We were aggressive on the bases, we hit the ball really hard tonight. I think we had five or six doubles. This offense is really tough.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F
MA 15
SWV 3
Hitting
AB H R BI
S.Stewart 4 4 3 2
Reynolds 4 2 2 3
Anderson 2 1 2 2
H. Barnes 3 3 0 2
R.Sobotka 4 2 2 3
A. Barnes 3 0 0 0
Henle 3 1 1 1
Lambert 2 1 2 0
M.Stewart 3 1 2 0
Knight 0 0 0 0
M.Jones 1 0 1 0
Z.Larsen 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 30 15 15 13
Pitching
IP H ER R K
Reynolds 4 0 2 3 2
Anderson 1 2 0 0 2
TOTALS 5 2 2 3 4
Mt. Ayr 3, Earlham 1
Wednesday, the Earlham Cardinals traveled to Mount Ayr for a varsity doubleheader.
In game one, the Raiderettes found scores early, putting up two runs in the first and then adding their third run in the third.
Mount Ayr held the 3-0 lead for the majority of the game in a combination of pitching Addy Reynolds and a good defense behind the circle.
Reynolds allowed two hits and one run, while striking out one after seven innings.
It would have been a much different game if it hadn’t been for two heads up plays by centerfielder Channler Henle.
In two different instances, the Cardinals were poised to score with a runner on third. A hit into center found Henle’s glove as she showed her cannon of an arm, launching the ball to catcher Abigail Barnes who blocked the plate to keep the Cardinals off the board.
“The dugout helped a lot screaming home and in practice we always work on that situation,” said Henle. “I was ready for it.”
Earlham did manage a score late in the seventh to bring the final to 3-1.
The Raiderettes saw five hits and three runs at the plate.
Stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F
EC 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
MA 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Hitting
AB H R BI
S.Stewart 4 2 1 0
Reynolds 3 0 0 0
Anderson 2 1 0 1
H. Barnes 3 2 0 0
R.Sobotka 3 0 0 0
A. Barnes 3 0 0 1
Henle 3 0 0 0
Lambert 3 0 0 0
M.Stewart 3 0 1 0
Knight 0 1 0 0
TOTALS 27 5 3 2
Pitching
IP H ER R K
Reynolds 7 2 0 1 1
TOTALS 7 2 0 1 1
Earlham 10, Mt Ayr 6
Game two of the doubleheader was a completely different showing for both teams, with Earlham getting off to a hot start, scoring all 10 runs in the first four innings.
Mount Ayr struggled at hitting the gaps at the plate early and Earlham seemed to have Mount Ayr’s Alexa Anderson and Zoey Larsen timed up.
The Raiderettes fell behind 7-1, but a four run fourth inning saw them come within two runs. The Cardinals answered back with three of their own to raise the bar once more.
Mount Ayr saw 13 hits, including 11 singles and one double, along with a home run to begin the game with Addy Reynolds.
The Raiderettes only mustered six runs on the 13 hits, however,
In the circle, Larsen and Anderson combined for two strike-outs and allowed 12 hits, 10 runs and three walks.
“The second game early we panicked a little bit there and we have talked about our defense being exposed a little bit and they did that, they did a nice job,” said coach Ruggles. “I thought offensively the first game our at-bats were amazing.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F
MA 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 6
EC 2 3 2 3 0 0 0 10
Hitting
AB H R BI
S.Stewart 3 1 1 0
Reynolds 3 1 2 1
Anderson 3 1 0 0
H. Barnes 3 2 0 1
Z.Larsen 2 1 0 1
R.Sobotka 4 1 0 0
Henle 4 0 0 0
Lambert 4 3 1 0
M.Stewart 4 3 2 0
Knight 4 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 13 6 3
Pitching
IP H ER R K
Anderson 1 3 3 5 1
Larsen 4 9 4 5 1
TOTALS 6 12 7 10 2