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Warner strikes out 13 in victory over Smith-Cotton
Nevada Daily Mail
Even a light shower was unable to cool off the red-hot Nevada Lady Tigers softball team, as they dealt the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers a 6-2 defeat Thursday evening at Bushwhacker Field.
The victory improved Nevada to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the West Central Conference.
Lady Tigers starting pitcher Carsten Warner dominated, striking out 13 while walking none.
"Overall, Carsten had a lot of things working well," Lady Tigers head coach Tammy Holcomb said. "All of her pitches move, and she locates well. She has a ball that rises up out of the zone, and that's a hard pitch to lay off of. She throws a killer change-up as well."
Warner encountered minor trouble in the top of the first, as Smith-Cotton leadoff hitter Reagan Hockett connected for a double down the right field line on the game's first pitch. Hockett then advanced to third base via a Warner wild pitch.
McKenna Woolery's sacrifice fly to center field plated Hockett to put Smith-Cotton on top 1-0.
Still trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, Warner struck out the side, giving her four strike outs through two innings.
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning and freshman Cameron Holcomb on first base after reaching on a fielders choice, fellow freshman Emily Johnson doubled into the right-center field gap, scoring Holcomb to knot the score 1-1.
The two-out rally continued when Anna Fulton drew a walk followed by a near perfect Reagan Bradley bunt to load the bases for senior Madeline Culbertson.
With one swing of the bat, Culbertson emptied the base paths with a hard-hit single into left field. A two-base error committed by Woolery allowed Fulton and Bradley to cross home plate, while Culbertson moved up to third base. Culbertson's base hit off Smith-Cotton starting pitcher Emma Honn, gave the Lady Tigers a 4-1 advantage.
Helping her own cause, Warner then doubled to right-center field, picking up an RBI as Culbertson touched home plate, handing Nevada a 5-1 lead.
The Lady Tigers were unable to extend the lead as Honn was able to escape further damage with an inning-ending strike out.
Warner's excellent outing continued in the top of the third, as she again struck out the side. After striking out the side in back-to-back innings, Warner had racked up seven strike outs through three innings.
Warner's only real jam of the evening came in the top of the fourth, as Smith-Cotton managed to load the bases with three singles. With one out in the inning, left-handed hitter Christian Darby singled to left field, scoring Maddy Kindle from third base, as Smith-Cotton trailed 5-2.
Warner notched the inning's second out with a strike out of Abbey Ahern.
It looked a though Sedalia might slice further into the lead after Warner uncorked a wild pitch sending Honn from third base to home plate. Warner however, jetted to cover home, as catcher Kayler Ast tossed the ball to Warner just in time to apply the tag on Honn, ending the inning with runners left stranded.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Culbertson belted a single into left field. Senior Taylor Remington later stepped to the plate with two outs, lining a Honn pitch into right field, to score Culbertson, as the Lady Tigers extended their lead to 6-2.
Nevada's offensive output was more than enough for Warner. Over the final two frames, Warner fanned four, including punching out Kindle for the final out of the game.
Holcomb said she is pleased her squad has jumped out to a perfect conference start.
"The conference wins are always great," she said. "We're looking down the road. When we talk about conference-play, we want to make sure that come conference tournament time that we're ready to play and come away with wins there."
Although the Lady Tigers have been on fire at the plate as of late, Holcomb said she still sees room for improvement. For Nevada, Culbertson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Cameron Holcomb went 2-for-3 with two singles and a run scored.
"We put the ball in play tonight," she said. "I would still like to see us get better with runners in scoring position, but we're getting there."
Vs. Aurora
The Lady Tigers drilled Aurora on the road Saturday afternoon, 19-1. Warner picked up the four-inning victory.
Next up
The Lady Tigers host Monett, with the first pitch slated for 4:30 p.m., Monday.
Future dates (home games denoted in bold)
* Sept. 17: Warrensburg, 4:30 p.m.
* Sept: 18-19: Warrensburg High School Tournament, TBA
* Sept. 21: Carthage, 5 p.m.
* Sept. 24: Clinton, 4:30 p.m.
* Sept. 26: West Central Conference Tournament, TBA
* Sept. 30, Pleasant Hill
* Oct. 1: Webb City, 5 p.m.
* Oct. 7-10: Class 3, District 13 championship, TBA