Experienced pitching and hitting spots made for a low scoring game when Simon Kenton and Conner met on the diamond Tuesday night in Independence.
It came down to which team put together more productive at-bats to win and host Simon Kenton did it in a 3-1 softball victory over the Cougars. The difference in the game was three Cougar errors, allowing the Pioneers to score two unearned runs from them.
Landrey Dance (2-2) pitched her third complete game of the season, earning the win for Simon Kenton, striking out seven and walking two. The Pioneers played error-free defense behind her.
“It feels great because we’ve been working on defense in the offseason,” Dance said. “We’ve really tried to limit our errors. It just makes me more confident as a pitcher out there.”
Mollie Sharp (1-3) took the loss despite throwing her fourth complete game of the season. The lefty struck out eight and walked one.
“Her ability to work both sides of the plate and then change speeds with the changeup (makes Sharp tough),” Simon Kenton head coach Chris Young said. “Anytime you can’t get comfortable and sit on a pitch, it’s tough. She does a really good job of not letting you see the same thing more than once.”
The Pioneers scored their lone earned run in the bottom of the second. With one out, Taylor Jones walked and took second when Sharp hit Courtney Beach with a pitch. With two out, Jones and Beach executed a successful double steal to take second and third. Leadoff hitter Larkin Mitchell then beat out a ground ball to second to score Jones, giving the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
“Productive at-bats instead of strikeouts are really important,” Mitchell said. “It’s something we talk about a lot in practice. The strike zone was a bit bigger this game so we had really work on shortening up and just getting the ball in play to score some runs.”
Simon Kenton then took advantage of a Conner throwing error in the bottom of the third to go up 2-0. Emilie Young singled to right and pinch runner Alli Fowler took second when Adreena Barton reached on an error. After Dance sacrifice bunted Fowler and Barton up one base, Fowler scored when Addison Johnson grounded out to first.
The Pioneers tacked on another in the bottom of the fifth. Cara Swope singled to center and ran all the way to third on a Conner fielding error. One out later, Barton hit a pop up to the right side of the infield and it dropped in between two Cougar fielders, allowing Swope to score.
Conner dented the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Averie Lightner led off the inning belting a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center field for the team’s first home run of the season and the game’s lone extra-base hit to make the final score.
Despite just nine hits in the contest, three had multi-hit games. Swope and Emilie Young did it for Simon Kenton and Addison Santiago did it for Conner.
Conner had a golden opportunity in the top of the third. The Cougars appeared to load the bases with one out, but they were called for offensive interference leaving runners at first and second. Dance then got Lightner to ground into a fielder’s choice.
“We couldn’t come through with the big hit,” Conner head coach Shawn Sproles said. “Obviously, Averie’s home run tightened it up a bit, but then we had some self-inflicted wounds. The good thing for us is we’re playing a quality team. We know where we are and where we’re trying to get. It’s a bitter taste, but I’m happy that the fight’s there. The program’s come a long way.”
Simon Kenton (2-2) travels to Oldham County on Thursday at 6 p.m. for the first 8th Region game of the season. Conner (3-5) hosts Campbell County on Thursday at 5 p.m.
PIONEERS 3, COUGARS 1
CONNER — 000-001-0 — 1-4-3
SIMON KENTON — 011-010-0 — 3-5-0
HR — (C) Lightner
WP — Dance (2-2). LP — Sharp (1-3).
Records: Conner 3-5, Simon Kenton 2-2