The Willow Springs softball team was coming off a shut-out performance and championship title at the Dora tournament over the weekend when they hosted Hartville on Monday. The Bears proved their winning streak wasn’t over as they took the 13-1 win in grandiose fashion, ending the game in the sixth inning with a walk-off homerun.
Willow Springs started the game with a single from Kirstien Loman and an RBI by Krysta Rader on a grounder past first. They continued their early momentum in the second with a Jasmine Wood double, followed by a walk for Madison Porter. Devin Perkins smacked a single to drive in a run and Loman hit a double to drive in two, and Willow Springs led 4-0 with more to come.
“I felt like we came out really strong right from the get-go,” said Willow Springs head coach Tracy Cottengim. “One thing we’ve been working on in practice is mental toughness. Our skills are there, our physical abilities to make the plays on defense, to hit the ball and pitch the ball are all there, but our mental toughness is what we’ve been really stressing in practice. I felt like after a pretty long weekend and some really good games, we came out just a little fatigued on the mental, but overall we came out aggressive early and we did a good job getting on top of them and being able to finish out strong.”
PHOTOS: WILLOW SPRINGS VS. HARTVILLE
In the fourth, Porter reached on an error, and Perkins singled. Loman also reached on an error to load the bases, and Sydney Miller drove them all home on a double. Emily Scarbrough’s sac fly scored Miller, advancing the host team’s lead to 8-0.
The Eagles got on the board in the sixth inning when Brooke Smith doubled, then Pate Schultz reached on an error to bring Smith home.
But the Bears weren’t finished with their scoring effort, and the sixth inning proved to be their biggest. Miller singled and stole a base and was driven home by Kaitlynn Woody to bring the score to 9-1.
With Woody on base, Rader reached on an error and Scarbrough was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
That’s when Jasmine Wood stepped up to bat and swung for the fences for a walk-off homer, connecting for a grand slam to end the ball game in the sixth inning, 13-1.
For Willow Springs, Devin Perkins, Sydney Miller and Kirstien Loman were each 2-for-3 from the plate on the night, scoring two runs apiece. Loman and Miller combined in pitching for six strikeouts.
Hartville head coach Mike Percival said that like Willow, his team was coming off a tournament weekend, having competed in the Morrisville Tourney. The team also missed their catcher on Monday due to illness and thus some were playing out of position.
But Percival said these factors were not an excuse for the loss. “We couldn’t put hits together and got down on ourselves a little bit, and everything went into a spiral,” he said. “(Willow Springs) had a lot to do with that. They hit the ball well and made some plays…kudos to them.”
Coach Cottengim noted that her team has now given up only two runs in 39 innings played. “Both pitchers are throwing extremely well right now, and our defense behind them has just been phenomenal,” she said. “To hold teams scoreless says a lot about your defense and your pitching. If we can get our pitchers some runs, they can usually hold us into a game. We are doing a good job performing as a team and our work to be done is to stay mentally tough throughout the season.
“I’m really proud of the girls and how we’re progressing.”
Willow Springs (5-1 overall) hosts Bakersfield on Thursday, while Hartville hosts Morrisville on Tuesday.
