– Photo courtesy of Rossville Hornet Softball
The Rossville Hornets smashed their first Sectional game against Tri-West to move into the semi-finals against South Newton in their journey to the championship game.
The Rossville Hornets kicked off their road to a Sectional Championship title by facing off against Tri-County, where the Hornets concluded the game after only five innings with a score of 12 to 1 in favor of the Hornets.
The game started off slow for both teams as the Cavaliers took to the plate first where they saw a strikeout looking on the first batter, a swinging strikeout for the second batter and a swinging strikeout for the third batter, turning over the inning with only three Cavaliers stepping up to the plate. The Hornets led off with a fly ball that was caught in the green, a groundball to the pitcher and a groundball to the short stop for only three batters stepping up to the plate, leading the Hornets and the Cavaliers to a 0 to 0 score heading into the top of the second.
The Cavaliers were once again held to zero runs in the top of the second inning before the Rossville Hornets began to warm up their base running in the bottom of the second. With two walks followed by a passed ball, the Hornets were moved to third and second in scoring position with only one out as a third walk loaded the bases. A passed ball led to the Hornets first point on the board, and a fourth walk of the inning loaded the bases once more. A strikeout followed by a infield fly ball concluded the inning with three Hornets left stranded, leaving the score at 1 to 0 headed into the third inning.
The Oracles would attempt to make a comeback against the Hornets in the top of the third as a walk moved one runner to first. A second walk allowed for the Cavaliers to have runners on first and second. After two strikeouts, a passed ball allowed the Cavaliers to move into scoring position on third and second. A walk would have loaded the bases, but a bounce at the catcher’s feet allowed for a passed ball that scored the Cavalier on third, bringing the score to 1 to 1. Another walk loaded the bases, but the Hornets stayed calm, ending the inning with a ground ball to second base. The Hornets would be held by the Cavaliers, ending the inning with a score of 1 to 1.
The Cavaliers would not score for the next two innings, but the Hornets kicked their game into gear as they revved up their bats and base running knowledge to pull ahead of the Cavaliers and boast a large gap in scores.
In the bottom of the fourth, a walk led into a passed ball, placing a Hornet on second in scoring position. A second walk would place a Hornet on first and second as the Cavaliers gathered on the mound to cool down. A strikeout looking would net the Hornets one out before a third walk of the inning loaded the bases. A line drive past the short stop allowed two Hornets to rush into home, extending the score to 3 to 1 with runners on second and first. A fourth walk of the inning loaded the bases once more as the Cavaliers returned to the mound to discuss their next moves as a new pitcher entered the game. A dropped ball in the outfield allowed the Hornets to score and keep the bases loaded, extending the lead to 4 to 1. A hard groundball to left field scored one Hornet before a second Hornet, despite tripping on her way to third, rounded the base and headed home, extending the lead to 6 to 1, leaving Hornets on first and second. A grounball to short stop moved the Hornets to second and third while racking up an out at first, leaving two Hornets in scoring position with two outs. A single to center-right field drove in the two runners before an out on a steal ended the inning with a score of 8 to 1.
The Hornets would hold the Cavaliers to 1 run in the top of the fifth, keeping the score 8 to 1 as the Hornets stepped up to bat. A drive over second placed the Hornets on first before a hard ground ball near second base moved the runners to second and first. A drive to center loaded the bases before a shot past short stop scored two runners and placed the Hornets on the points of the diamond, bringing the score to 10 to 1. A steal placed the Hornets on third and second as a double to right field drove in the final two runners to end the game 12 to 1.
The Hornets moved on to the semi-final match against South Newton where they would once again fire up their bats to end the game early.
Hornets Stats:
Finley Gibson: 2-4, 4 RBI
Gracie McDonald: 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Avery Layton: 1-3, 2 RBI
Allie Elliot: 1-1, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Autumn Paschal: 1-1, 2 BB
Cortney Huffman: 1-2, 1 BB
Avery Layton (pitching): 5 innings, 11 strikeouts