The young Princeton Lady Tigers played tough and determined softball on Tuesday night, fighting with the heavily favored Trenton Lady Bulldogs to a scoreless tie through four innings in Grand River Conference action from Mark Griffin Memorial Field at THS. However, the upset hopes of Princeton vanished in the fifth, with Trenton scoring five runs on a pair of RBI singles, a sacrifice fly, and a two-run home run, to win by a score of 5-0, heard locally on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Princeton freshman Lauren Krohn matched zero’s with Trenton All-Stater Ainsley Tolson through four innings, although Tolson got her work done in 12 up-12 down fashion, while Krohn, mixing speeds to keep the Lady Bulldogs off balance, working through four walks and a pair of hits to keep Trenton off the board. However, Trenton, after missing to score on a bases loaded, one out chance in the 4th, appeared to be on the verge of a strike.
That strike, after Tolson retired PHS in order in the visiting fifth, began in the bottom half on a walk to Tolson, followed by a bunt single by Mykah Hurley. A walk to Maci Moore loaded the bases, and after Tolson was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch, Trenton senior catcher Salem Croy looked to give THS a lead, with Tom Johnson on the mic:
A Taylor Richman sacrifice fly to right scored Moore with the second run of the inning, with Sidney Lynch’s single scoring courtesy runner Gracyn Rongey to push the lead to 3-0. With Lynch on first and two outs, the danger of more runs scoring for Trenton appeared over for the Lady Tigers hopes, but junior center fielder Lexi Whitaker had other ideas:
For the second consecutive Tuesday night in the GRC, Trenton won in shutout fashion at home, this time 5-0, with Tolson giving up a pair of late hits to spoil what had been a perfect game through 17 batters. Kennedy Norton and Lacie Lewis had the singles for Princeton. Giving credit to Krohn for her excellent pitching, THS Coach John Cowling how being tested for his veteran team, particularly in GRC play, is a benefit for his squad:
Princeton, battling youth and inconsistently early, has struggled to find good momentum into early September, but Coach Heather Hall hopes that playing one of the top Class 2 teams in the state tough in a benefit for the Lady Tigers:
Trenton is now 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the GRC East, with Princeton, coming off a 5-4 loss Thursday against South Harrison, sits at 0-2 in GRC play, still searching for the first conference win of the season. Additional games for both schools are coming up next week on Hot Country Z 101.7, with Trenton hosting Penney on Monday night at 5 o’clock, and Princeton at Gallatin at 5:30 on Tuesday night (September 11th).
Princeton won the JV contest on Trenton’s field by a score of 5-4. The game see-sawed throughout, with the Tigers grabbing a 1-0 lead through the top of the first, while Trenton, with an RBI single by Delaney Franklin and a two-run double by Teya Cooksey, taking a 3-1 lead with a three-run second. Princeton answered with three runs in the top of the third inning, only to be answered by an inside-the-park home run by Gracyn Rongey in the bottom of the third. Princeton scored what turned out to be the game-winning run in the top of the fourth, winning 5-4.
Trenton JV Coach Kameron Cool, despite the loss, was pleased with the Lady Bulldogs performance, saying, “We saw so much improvement. We had a lot of great things happen at the plate, and we were more active defensively.”
In middle school softball from Johnson Field, Princeton took an 8-1 win. Megan Spencer pitched for TMS and took the loss. Andrea Selby scored Eliana Cowling for Trenton’s only run.
Other softball finals from Tuesday night were:
Chillicothe 10, Lafayette 6
Maysville 7, South Harrison 0
North Harrison 18, Gilman City 0
Mercer 7, Winston 5
Maryville 6, Cameron 0
Platte Valley 5, Stewartsville 2
Kearney 9, Smithville 2
Plattsburg 3, Lexington 0
Macon 8, Brookfield 3
Mexico 12, Kirksville 0
Marceline 10, South Shelby 2
