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Monster Mash: Pritchett's two homer game sparks Lady Tiger rout of Reeds Spring, 17-7
If Thursday's season-opening victory is any indication, good things are in store for the Nevada Lady Tiger softball team.
Led by junior first baseman's Claire Pritchett's two round-tripper, six RBI game, the Lady Tigers administered a 17-7 beatdown of visiting Big 8 Conference foe Reeds Spring Wolves.
Pritchett's mammoth solo blast in the second broke open a scoreless contest. In her first career varsity at-bat, freshman third baseman Skyler Burns delivered an RBI-double to left, handing Nevada a 2-0 advantage.
Nevada increased its advantage to 5-1 in the third, but saw its lead whittled to a run in the top of the fourth. The home-half of the frame, however, was a big one for the Lady Tigers.
Sophomore catcher Kirstin Buck and freshman outfielder Kara Phillips dropped in a pair of bloop singes to open the frame. Senior Abby Harder then lashed a single to center, plating Buck, and Pritchett roped a two-RBI double to deep left, putting Nevada in front, 8-4. Pritchett eventually came around to score via an infield error.
Burns continued her sparkling varsity debut, crushing an offering into left field that scored senior Blair Wilson for a commanding 10-4 lead. The lead swelled to seven runs, courtesy of senior Mariah Vanskike's RBI fielder's choice groundout. The final blow of the frame came on Phillips run-scoring blast off the base of the right field wall, swelling the Lady Tigers lead to 12-4.
Reeds Spring climbed back into the contest in the fifth, with the three-run frame capped by Kaleala Vangenderen's towering two-run homer to left-center, slicing the deficit to 12-7.
Harder, Nevada's starting pitcher, aided her own cause with a four-hit outing — including a fifth-inning leadoff single down the left field line. Pritchett, who throws and bats from the left side, followed — teeing off on the first pitch and sending a laser shot over the wall to dead center, resulting in a 14-7 Lady Tiger advantage.
The Lady Tigers closed out the contest with a three-run sixth. Seniors Harder, Malegha Hinton, and Wilson each collected RBI's en route to the run-rule victory.
Second-year Nevada head coach Danny Penn said he was pleased with his club's overall performance. He noted they came out of the gate a little slow offensively, but were able to adjust.
"We were ahead of everything the first couple of innings," he said. "We made a nice adjustment in the third inning. We put together a couple of big innings."
Penn discussed Pritchett's Babe Ruth-esque performance.
"Last year she hit in the high .400s average-wise," Penn began. "A lot of those base-hits were to the left side. She's worked really hard this year on pitches middle-in, looking to pull those. Her second homer was on a middle-in pitch, and she was all over it. So I'm happy to see that progress pay off in a game."
Said Pritchett of her monster day: "It was really exciting, I'm beyond blessed, and really looking forward to the rest of the season."
In addition to Pritchett's 3-for-5 performance at the dish, Penn was also thrilled with her awareness on the basepaths.
"She really hustled, took a couple extra bases," he said.
Penn added that he throught his ace had a fine outing."Abby threw well, just left a couple of two-strike pitches over the plate, and they put good swings on them."
With star senior shortstop Tylin Heathman unavailable for the contest, Penn noted the defense stepped up in her absence, including several nice catches by junior Bailey Ast, who shifted from center field to fill in at shortstop.
Penn was definitely impressed with the debuts of his freshman duo, Burns and Phillips.
"In her first at-bat, Skyler did a nice job of shooting one down the left field line," Penn recounted. "And Kara had a nice game. Both of them, I don't think we could ask for anything more out of them. It was a really good start to their high school careers, and hopefully the start of a lot of good things."
Due to concerns over the global pandemic, the Lady Tigers elected to hold their senior night festivities after the contest. Normally, the ceremony would take place following the final home contest of the season. Honored, were Harder, Hinton, Vanskike, and Wilson. It was announced Heathman will be honored at a future date.
"It's hard to put into words what those girls have meant to our program," Penn said. "Tylin and Abby have played at the varsity level all four years. Maleigha has played intermittently due to injury. But she's another person who could have been at the varsity level all four years.
"Added Penn: "Blair does a lot for our team off the field, a good vocal leader, does a good job of including underclassmen in everything. And Mariah is quiet, sometimes you forget she's there. But then, she's ready to make plays."
Summed up Penn: "We were glad we were able to celebrate them tonight, but hopeful we get to have a long season — and a full season."
Up Next
The Lady Tigers return to the diamond today for the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Joplin High School Tournament.
Nevada (1-0) is slated for a trio of games. The Lady Tigers open play at 4 p.m. against Seneca.
They then follow with a 5:45 matchup against Neosho, and concluded their action-packed day with a 7:30 nightcap against Webb City.
The tournament host-site is Joplin Athletic Complex, 3301 W. 1st Street.