In a Class 2 sectional rematch from a year ago, the newly minted Grand River Conference and Centralia Tournament champions from Trenton won at Marceline on Monday night, 7-1.
In the Trenton 1st inning, the Lady Bulldogs started fast, as Ainsley Tolson singled and stole second. With two outs, Maci Moore continued her assault on the softball, hammering her 6th home run of the season for a 2-0 edge. Marceline bounced back with an unearned run off Trenton starter McKayla Blackburn in the bottom of the first, but Trenton got two more in the top of the 4th when Sidney Lynch scored on an errant throw by Marceline’s shortstop as Lexi Whitaker advanced to third on the play. Jayden Roeder followed with an RBI single.
The Lady Bulldogs played “add on” in the 5th, with Ashten Whitaker and Ainsley Tolson hitting singles, putting runners on the corners. Whitaker scored on a wild pitch, and a Salem Croy base hit plated Tolson. Courtesy runner Kennedy Norton stolen second and came home-bound on an RBI single by Moore, pushing the lead to 7-1.
McKayla Blackburn went the first three innings, giving up two hits and an unearned run. Tolson went the final 4 innings allowing only 1 hit. The double play combination of Jayden Roeder and Mykah Hurley turned a pair of 4-6-3 double plays and one 6-4-3 double play, with Trenton’s defense doing well to hold down a potent Tiger offense.
Moore was 2-3 with 3 RBI, Tolson was 2-4 with 2 runs, Croy was 1-4 with and RBI, Ashten Whitaker was 1-3 with a run and Jayden Roeder was 1-3 with an RBI.
Head Coach John Cowling continues to be amazed by his 20-1 Lady Bulldogs, telling KTTN/KGOZ, “I really didn’t know what to expect from the girls coming off our long day Saturday. I can’t be happier with how focused and motivated they were to play tonight against a team that has become a rival recently. McKayla and Ainsley did a great job keeping their hitters off balance all game. One of our goals every year is to get to 20 wins, this was a great way to get it.”
The THS JV suffered their first loss of the season Monday night, falling to Marceline 5-1.
Early base-running mistakes and errors hurt THS as Marceline held a slim 1-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Marceline would tack on four more runs to give themselves a 5-0 cushion heading into the fifth and final inning. Jaycie Griffin, two-for-two, would score a single and then was driven home by a Lexi Whitaker triple to give Trenton their only run of the contest.
McKayla Blackburn was two-for-two with three stolen bases and both Kennedy Norton and Chloie Harris recorded hits for THS.
In the circle, Blackburn went three innings, giving up one unearned run on one hit while striking out seven. Jillian Nichols went one inning for the Bulldogs, giving up four runs (three earned) on two hits with two walks while striking out one.
Trenton Middle School played a pair of contests with Marceline on Monday night, splitting the games with the Lady Tigers. In the “A” game, Marceline cruised to a 16-0 win. Trenton won the “B” game with Marceline 4-2.
