Polo’s Lady Panthers traveled to Mark Griffin Memorial Field in Trenton on Thursday night for a Grand River Conference softball duel with the Lady Bulldogs, using a fast start and lethal finish to win 14-4, in action broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
Polo opened the scoring off Trenton right-hander Jenna Reeter in the top of the first inning, although the damage inflicted to THS was mostly self-inflicted, as three errors, combined with a single by Kenley Moore, in addition to a lead-off walk to Hanna Vaught, gave the Lady Panthers an opening three spot.
After Trenton was retired in the bottom of the first with only a two-out single by Maci Moore, Polo looked to be under control in the 2nd, with Josie Misel on first base and two outs. However, a Vaught triple scored Misel, with a walk to Moore following. Chloe Gilbert drove in both runners with a two-run double, and the lead had doubled, to 6-0 lead.
Trenton’s offense came alive in the bottom of the third inning, as Eliana Cowling reached on a fielding error with one our, with courtesy runner Jena Harris moving to second on a Chandler Lynch single. Gracyn Rongey drove in both runners with a two-run triple to left-center field, completing the way with a daring head-first dive into the third base bag. A Maci Moore double scored Rongey, with a wild pitch giving Moore third base. She scored on a passed ball.
The game settled down briefly from there, with both teams scoreless in the fourth inning, but Trenton run into a nightmarish fifth inning, with Polo batting 12, and scoring eight runs. Six walks were given by a Trenton staff that struggled with command, with the Lady Bulldogs seeing a missed opportunity to escape the inning, as, down 7-4, a hard-ground ball, instead of being turned into a potential inning-ending double play, was wildly thrown down the right field line, clearing the bases in the process. Four more runs would follow, with a scoreless bottom of the 5th for THS ending the game at 14-4.
For Polo, in the decisive fifth inning, Haley Barnett and Kayla Larkin joined Vaught, Gilbert, and Misel with RBI’s. Vaught earned the pitching win for PHS, scattering five hits with four strikeouts. Jenna Reeter and Emma Roberts combined for five innings of work for Trenton. Reeter took the loss, giving up five hits in three innings of work.
Other softball finals from Thursday, September 17, 2020 were:
Milan 2, South Harrison 0
Putnam County 4, Princeton 3
Stanberry 5, King City 1
Worth County 8, Pattonsburg 0
Platte Valley 15, Albany 2
Kirksville 9, Highland 2
Schuyler County 9, Knox County 4
Marceline 15, Salisbury 2
