Trenton High School freshman Maci Moore, on Saturday night, tied the Lady Bulldogs championship game in the Centralia Tournament with a two-run home run in the top of the 4th inning, then, with a dramatic triple in the 10th inning, drove in the game-winning run in a 5-3 victory over Mexico that pushed the Lady Bulldogs record to 19-1.
In making their most decisive statement of the 2017 season, Trenton opened the day against Hallsville and started quickly. In the bottom of the first inning Ainsley Tolson led off with a double and scored on Mykah Hurley’s RBI single. Salem Croy drove home Hurley with an RBI double followed by a walk to Maci Moore. Sidney Lynch stepped in and hit a three run home run to make the score 5-0, Lynch’s 4th of the season. Trenton pushed across 2 more runs in the second inning and Lynch’s second three run home run of the game highlighted a 4 run third inning. Run-scoring singles by Tolson and Hurley and a 2 RBI triple by Moore led to 5 more runs in the 4th inning. Lynch finished 2-3 with 6 RBI, Hurley and Croy were each 3-3 with 3 runs scored, Tolson was 2-3 with 3 runs, Moore was 1-2 with 3 runs, Lexi and Ashten Whitaker each finished 1-3. McKayla Blackburn picked up her third win of the season, striking out 5 in 5 innings, allowing only 4 hits.
In the semifinals, Trenton battled North Callaway in a game that quickly moved into a “pitchers duel”. Trenton got hits in the first inning from Hurley and Croy but was unable to score. Trenton would not have another base-runner until the bottom of the 4th inning when Maci Moore’s 4th home run of the season gave the Bulldogs the lead 1-0. Trenton was able to scrape across an insurance run in the bottom of the 5th when McKayla Blackburn scored as the Thunderbird defense mishandled Mykah Hurley’s perfect bunt single to make the score 2-0. Ainsley Tolson was the story of this game, allowing only one runner, a 2 out single in the 4th and striking out 10.
Head Coach John Cowling was very pleased with his team’s performance, saying, “I felt like this was the best softball game we have played up to this point in the season, given the level of competition we were facing. Our defense was mistake free and North Callaway’s batters couldn’t figure out Ainsley. Maci came up with a huge hit to get us the lead and some great base-running by McKayla gave us a cushion.”
Playing a strong Class 3 Mexico Bulldog team in the finals, Trenton fell behind 2-0, as MHS scored single tallies in the 2nd and 3rd innings. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Salem Croy smacked a single down the third base line. Moore followed with a “monster shot” over the fence in left, for her 5th home run of the season, tying the game at 2. Mexico scraped across the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 6th inning on a fielder’s choice ground ball with the bases loaded, leaving Trenton’s championship hopes down to just three outs.
In the 7th, Lexi Whitaker led off by reaching on an error, with her big sister Ashten Whitaker also reaching on an error one out later. A sacrifice fly by sophomore McKayla Blackburn tied the score at 3. After Tolson worked out of jams in the 8th and 9th innings to keep the game tied, Salem Croy led off the 10th inning with a single to left field. A Maci Moore triple gave THS the lead, with Moore driven in on a liner down the left field line by Lynch. Tolson was able to work around a 2 out double in the bottom of the 10th inning, forcing a pop up to Lexi Whitaker to end the game. Tolson went the distance, striking out 14 to pick up her 16th win of the season. Moore finished 2-4 with 3 RBI, Croy was 2-5, Lexi Whitaker, Tolson and Jayden Roeder were each 1-5.
Coach Cowling noted that with all of Trenton’s recent success, one tournament title that has eluded the program, before Saturday was Centralia, saying that “One of the goals the girls set before the season was to win this tournament”.
Trenton, in past years, had a pair of third place finishes and a fifth place finish in the late September event. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Grand River Conference champion Lady Bulldogs appear ready for district play, with Cowling saying. “We had many girls step up in key moments and I felt like everyone contributed throughout the day. Maci did not look like a freshman, stepping up in big spots in both the semifinals and finals. The championship game definitely had a postseason feel to it.”
THS plays at Marceline on Monday night at 5 o’clock in a potential playoff preview. Trenton will host Brookfield on Tuesday at 5 and Chillicothe on Senior Night, Monday, October 2nd at 5, with both of those home contests to be broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7. Trenton will host district play from Wednesday, October 4th to Saturday, October 7th.
