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Lady Tigers drop key conference contest to Warrensburg, 3-1
It’s been a rugged stretch for the Nevada Lady Tigers softball team, having lost five games in a row, with three of those coming in extra innings.
Thursday’s 3-1 extra inning home loss to visiting Warrensburg, moved Nevada to 7-7 overall and 2-2 in West Central Conference play. With only five games on the conference slate, the loss takes Nevada out of contention for the WCC regular season crown, with both Smith-Cotton High School and Warrensburg sitting at 3-1 in conference-play and having already defeated Nevada head-to-head.
It is an unfortunate turn of events for the Lady Tigers; they could have been the team in the drivers seat, but lost to Smith-Cotton in extra innings as well.
The Lady Tigers struggled to put the ball in play, due in large part to the standout performance of Warrensburg southpaw, Maci Cunconan, who was electric in the circle.
With Warrensburg leading 1-0, Cunconan took a 1-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh. Cunconan quickly encountered trouble as freshman Tylin Heathman led off the inning with an opposite field line-drive single, then swiped second. With 1-out Heathman stole third, and the Lady Tigers broke through when pinch-hitter Naudea Dodds grounded to third.
With the infield in for a play at the plate, third baseman Brandi VanBlarcum fielded the grounder, looked Heathman back to third, and fired to first. Her throw sailed wide, with Heathman easily scoring from third, tying the contest 1-1. Dodds advanced to second on the errant throw.
“Naudea came in and did a great job of putting the ball in play to give us a chance,” said Lady Tigers head coach Tammy Holcomb.
Nevada junior Emily Johnson advanced Dodds to third on a fly ball to the left field warning track. Cunconan escaped the jam when Cameron Holcomb flew out to shallow center, concluding the inning.
Cunconan led off the top of the eighth by rocketing a Maggie Leisure offering off the top of the center field wall. She then scored on a wild pitch, handing Warrensburg a 2-1 lead. Warrensburg tacked on an insurance run, courtesy of VanBlarcum’s two-out RBI single to right.
Cunconan returned to the mound for the eighth, retiring the side in order to seal the victory. Cunconan finished the contest with nine strikeouts over eight innings of work, while allowing just two hits.
‘She’s left-handed and spins the ball very well,” said Holcomb. “She has a tight spin, and often times it appears it’s moving maybe a little more than it really is. I think more than anything, she has a natural fastball that starts at the letters, and we weren’t laying off that pitch very well. It wasn’t really a riseball, she just started it at the letters, and with the spin it makes it look very hitable.”
Added Holcomb: “Not being able to lay off that high pitch is something that we continue to talk about every half inning, to make sure we are laying off that pitch at the letters. It wasn’t being called for a strike, and we weren’t able to stay down on it.”
Leisure was also strong in the circle. A third inning infield error on a hard-hit Cunconan grounder resulted in the Warrensburg starter reaching second base. The error was one of five committed by Nevada. Cunconan was then plated on a 1-out Landry Sartwell base hit, putting Warrensburg on top 1-0.
“I think Maggie always does a good job (in the circle),” said Holcomb. “She was able to work out of several jams, but didn’t look quite herself early in the game. Maggie does a great job of (inducing) groundballs and flyballs. And we have to make sure we are doing our job behind her.”
Holcomb detailed her thoughts on the Lady Tigers tough stretch of losses.
“I think more than anything we’re just not making adjustments early in the game,” she said. “And then we’re ready to make those adjustments in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. We’re going to work through it and get there.”
Holcomb said the errors are a difficult obstacle to overcome.
“We’ve had a couple of errors throughout the last several games,” she said. “Tonight (the errors) were spread out a little more, but typically we’ve had that one inning where we have numerous errors, and it’s hard to come back from that.”
The Lady Tigers, however, made several outstanding defensive plays, including Haiden Richmond’s fourth inning catch on a sinking liner in right-center field, saving two runs from scoring; shortstop Tylin Heathman's diving catch on a liner to conclude the top of the fifth; second baseman Abby Harder’s diving catch in foul territory; and senior center fielder Anna Fulton making difficult catches appear routine.
Up next
The Lady Tigers return to the diamond Monday, for a non-conference road contest with Carthage.