Raiderettes 3-2 so far
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Mt.Ayr 13, Clarke 2
The Raiderettes opened their season with a win against Clarke on Tuesday night, with a final score of 13-2.
After making a state appearance last year, the team was very eager to get on the field and see what they could do, considering their loss of Addy Reynolds, Halsie Barnes and Payten Lambert, who were all large contributors to the Raiderette softball program.
The team graduated three very important seniors last year, but they also saw all three of their coaches step away from the program as well, which included Brett Ruggles, Carley Carrall and Ryan Reynolds, leaving the girls anxious to see what this season would have in store.
New head coach, Morgan Quick, shared her thoughts with her team after the game, “I think you ladies performed well,” said Quick. “There were situations that came up tonight that we never even had the chance to cover and you all executed them well. Your communication was amazing and I believe that’s what will keep us rolling throughout the season.”
The Raiderettes won by the ‘mercy rule’ ending their game after just four innings, with 10 of their 13 runs being scored in the second and the third.
The Raiderettes certainly made some noise on Tuesday night at both their season and home opener against Clarke, and they had the same mindset going into Thrusday’s game against East Union.
The girls saw Sara Collins in the circle Thursday night at their game in Afton, where she threw 87 pitches in seven innings.
After scoring sparsley, the Raiderettes were able to put up five runs throughout the game, with two in the second and three in the fourth, allowing just one run from the Lady Eagles in the second inning.
Kenzie Barnes, a freshman, started out in the circle for the Raiderettes pitching two innings, with Zoey Larsen to follow, pitching the last five innings where the Raiderettes only allowed the Eagles four hits total. The team ended the game with a cummulative batting average of .257, with six singles, two doubles and one triple, with Linsie Barnes leading her team with a personal batting average of .750. The Raiderettes have been coming out on top of East Union for the last nine years, making this the 10th year that they have defeated the Eagles.
Friday night was a nail biter for the Raiderette softball team and their fans.
Neither the Raiderettes nor the Cardinals were able to put up any runs in the first inning of the game; however, the Cardinals made a statement by putting up five runs in both the second and third innings, leaving the score to be 10-2 after three, with the Raiderettes down eight.
Raiderette second baseman Linsie Barnes took control of the situation by calling a timeout on two different occasions to try and ease the minds of her teammates.
Co-head coach Sara Winemiller explains what she said to her players when they went in at the top of the fourth, preparing for offense, “I told them that there was no reason we couldn’t come back, that we were not out of the game despite what the scoreboard read,” said Winemiller, “We had some errors they were dwelling on those errors. Softball is a game of ‘turn the page,’ and that’s what I told them they needed to do, and I think that made them come to a realization because they turned around and put up six runs in the next inning.”
The Raiderettes were able to finish the game in seven innings with the help of Diagonal senior Taylor Lumbard, who took the mound in the final two innings after Zoey Larsen was struggling with an apparent shoulder issue after pitching two games earlier in the week.
The final score was 13-12, where the Raiderettes came back from an eight-point defecit to put away the Central Decatur Cardinals, leaving Mount Ayr tied for first in the Pride of Iowa standings with Southeast Warren and Wayne, where they each have a record of 2-0.
