The Frankfort Lady Hot Dogs rounded out their season with zero wins as they fell to the West Lafayette
Red Devils in the first round of Sectionals on Monday night, but the team holds high spirits as they look toward the 2024-2025 season.
The Lady Hot Dogs traveled to Twin Lakes on Monday evening to take on the West Lafayette Red Devils, which resulted in a five-inning game where the Red Devils were able to reign victorious against the Lady Hot Dogs with a score of 25 to 3 in favor of West Lafayette.
The Hot Dogs kicked off the game with aspirations to continue a sectional run after a season with zero wins for the new team, but the Red Devils were able to hold the Lady Hot Dogs to zero as they headed into the bottom of the first inning.
The Hot Dogs defense was unable to translate their determination into the game as the Red Devils achieved 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, leading to a 10 to 0 start for West Lafayette heading into the top of the second inning.
As the Hot Dogs were held once again to a score of zero, the Red Devils kept their bats blazing and racked up four more runs, widening the gap between the two teams to 14 to 0. However, the Hot Dogs were able to gain momentum as Jada Vessels in centerfield and Jaevlyn Crain in left field secured two outstanding catches to end the inning and lead into the Hot Dogs’ best performing inning of the night.
The Hot Dogs began a rally that sparked momentum for the offense in the top of the third inning as Jackie Tovar Guijosa, Kam Campbell and Karlyle Ziebarth had base hits, and Justine Thomas scored a double that resulted in three runs for the Lady Hot Dogs in the top of the third. The Red Devils continued their dominance in the game in the bottom of the third as they matched the Hot Dogs’ rally, scoring three more runs and establishing a walk-off lead of 17 to 3.
During the bottom of the third, the Lady Hot dogs saw some rotating players for the defense with Chloe Moudy taking the mound, Campbell taking to center, Thomas taking short stop and Ziebarth stepping behind the plate as catcher for the first time during the season.
“More big catches were made by Kam at the fence, Justine at short and a throw from Caroline Queen at third to Maci Craig at first to end the inning,” Richard Sallee, Frankfort staff member, wrote.
The Red Devils would squash the Hot Dogs’ road to a comeback in the fourth inning by holding them to zero additional runs while scoring eight more runs in the bottom of the fourth, widening the gap to a 25 to 3 lead in favor of West Lafayette.
In the fifth inning, the Lady Hot Dogs were unable to secure enough runs to continue the game, leading to the Red Devils walking off with a victory in the fifth inning and a score of 25 to 3 with the Hot Dogs securing six hits and accumulating six errors during the game compared to the Red Devils’ 17 hits and zero errors.
“This was a rough season for the Lady Hot Dogs and not how they wanted to end the season for their seniors,” Sallee wrote. “When asked what they will miss most about their seniors, the responses were laughter, food and gossip. The growth that this team has shown throughout the season is amazing even if the scoreboard didn’t show it.”