By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Every softball player has dreamed of hitting a home run in a crucial contest.
The Willow Springs Lady Bears saw their dreams become reality Thursday night as they tallied four home runs, including a grand slam, propelling them to a 19-1 victory in an offensive onslaught against the Hartville Lady Eagles.
Senior Kirstien Loman hit two of those home runs: a three-run shot and a grand slam.
“It’s the best feeling ever,” said Loman. “Knowing that this would be my last game ever, playing on the field that I’ve grown up playing on and ending it the way I did makes it even better. It’s a very bittersweet moment with a few tears.”
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But the game didn’t begin so positively for the Lady Bears.
“It was a nail-biter for any coach, as far as coming out,” said Tracy Cottengim. “Our lead-off struck out. I knew Hartville came out of a district they had played well in, so I knew if we let them hang around they’d find a way to play with us and possibly beat us. I didn’t know what to expect and how ready we would be, but from there we kind of battled and put the ball in play.”
After a scoreless first inning, the host team started swinging the bats. In the second, Bella Melvin led off with a single, and Emily Scarbrough’s sac bunt moved her to second base. Jasmine Wood led a two-out rally and singled to score Melvin. Devin Perkins reached on an error and Loman followed it with her three-run homer. Sydney Miller then singled, stole a base, and moved over on a passed ball. Krysta Rader scored her on a single, and the Lady Bears went up 5-0.
Hartville then collected back-to-back hits from Sydney Howe and Bailey Martin. Howe singled and Martin had an RBI double to knock in Howe, scoring the Lady Eagles’ only run of the night.
“The second inning…gave us some breathing room and helped us to settle down a little bit, and from that point on we just played ball,” said Coach Cottengim.
In the third, Bella Melvin led off with a home run. Scarbrough, who reached on an error, came around to score when Perkins hit the ball to centerfield. The Lady Bears led 7-1.
The inning closed as Hartville went three up, three down, and the fourth inning was scoreless for both teams.
Willow Springs scored a whopping twelve runs off of twelve hits in the fifth inning, but the frame belonged to the long ball. Kirstien Loman powered in a grand slam, and Krysta Rader followed it with a two-run homer.
“I’m so proud of 1-9 because they all contributed, and the same on defense,” said Coach Cottengim. “Hartville has a solid team and Coach Percival does a great job. I’ve coached against them many, many times. I felt like once we got the momentum, we just kind of carried it through. Our runs pushed us to play good defense and it just all combined together for a great game for us.”
Hartville Coach Mike Percival said his team has struggled this season with extending innings and allowing the other team to put the ball into play. While the Lady Eagles have been playing really well for the final three weeks of the season, including during the district championship contest, their errors caught up with them today. “We came out and did alright to begin with, but they were hitting the ball extremely well,” he said. The Lady Eagles graduate five seniors and end with a 12-13 record.
Willow Springs pitcher Sydney Miller struck out 7 batters in 5 innings, and Hartville’s Brooke Smith struck out three.
For the Lady Bears, Loman had 7 RBIs and was 3 for 4, and Rader and Perkins each had 3 RBIs. Melvin scored all four times she came to the plate. For the Lady Eagles, Grace Culver was two for three.
The Lady Bears now have a 20-6 record and will play Saturday at Jefferson (Festus) in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament. In seven years of the school’s softball program, they have now advanced to this round three times.
