Nevada softball crushes C.J. on Strike Out Cancer Night

Friday, October 8, 2021
Nevada High School junior Kirstin Buck turns on a pitch during the Lady Tigers' 16-1 win over Carl Junction Wednesday afternoon at Bushwhacker Field.
Photo by Hank Layton | Daily Mail Sports Reporter

Alternate uniforms are usually reserved for college and professional sports teams, but on Wednesday afternoon at Bushwhacker Field the Nevada High School softball team got its chance to show off some new threads.

Instead of their usual crimson and gray, the Lady Tigers wore all-white tops and pants with pink socks and pink writing on their shirts honoring the game’s fund-raising special occasion: Strike Out Cancer Night.

In addition to helping raise hundreds of dollars to benefit local women who cannot afford mammograms (more on that in Saturday’s edition), the team clobbered Carl Junction 16-1 in four innings.

With a light rain falling throughout most of the game, the Lady Tigers (15-9) poured on the offense with a seven-run first inning, five-run second, one-run third, and three-run fourth.

Junior Kirstin Buck got the scoring started with a single to score senior Bailey Ast. Buck also had a double in the bottom of the fourth that drove in Skyler Burns and Claire Pritchett.

Freshman Ella Heathman was hit by a pitch twice, but in her other at-bats ripped an RBI double (scoring Pritchett in the first) and hit a lead-off single in the third, eventually scoring on a bases-loaded single by Ast.

Back in the first, Buck scored on an infield single by freshman Peyton Eaton, and courtesy runner Hailey Hearting scored when Hope Hearting reached on an error — before Eaton and Hope Hearting both scored on a bunt by freshman Caylee Holcomb. Holcomb eventually scored the final run on the opening frame when Burns poked an RBI single.

With Eaton in the circle limiting C.J. (2-23) to one run, Nevada was able to trigger the mercy rule in the fourth when Buck hit her two-run double and scored on an Eaton base hit up the middle.

The Lady Tigers will wrap up the regular season at the 22nd annual Carthage Invitational this weekend, before beginning the Class 4 District 7 tournament next week — at which they will be the no. 1 seed and face the winner of no. 4 Harrisonville and no. 5 Raytown South.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: