Donettes stay perfect against Twin Rivers, Dons fall to Royals

DONIPHAN — The energy within the Ozark Foothills Conference was in full effect on Thursday as the Doniphan Donettes went head-to-head against the Twin Rivers Lady Royals.

The Donettes kept a steady pace for most of the game and collected enough runs to ease past the Lady Royals to claim a 5-0 victory. The Donettes improved to 3-0 on the season, while the Lady Royals fell to 5-1.

With only three games under the Donettes’ belt, senior pitcher Kylie Hawkins said it felt good to be back on the diamond and she has high expectations for her last season with the Donettes. She expects a lot from the team as they finally get their game plan evened out for the spring, and lading an OFC win was just the spark they needed.

“We feel really good about this win,” Hawkins said. “We came into the game knowing that Twin Rivers is a tough team and have a really good pitcher in the circle, so we had to be ready. We started off kind of slow, but once everyone started to get into a groove, I think we all did pretty well. We played the small ball today, which really helped us win, so I’m pretty proud of us.”

The Donettes got on the board in the first inning after capitalizing off an error from the Lady Royals to bring in the first run. They continued to build in the following inning with a sacrifice bunt from Kenzee Davis to take a 2-0 at the bottom of the second.

Three more Donettes snagged more runs across the plate in the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0. Dalila Watson laid down a sacrifice bunt, scoring one run, and Kylie Hawkins homered to center field, scoring two runs.

Hawkins earned the win from the mound. The starting pitcher gave up four hits and zero runs over seven innings, striking out two and walking none. Alexis Parson took the loss for Twin Rivers. She pitched for six innings, allowing five runs (zero earned) on five hits, striking out seven and walking none.

Hawkins drove the middle of the lineup, leading the Donettes with two runs batted in while going 1-for-3 on the day. Kiernyn Bond, Kenna Kirby, Peyton Lowery, Hawkins, and Carsyn Hagood each collected one hit for Doniphan.

Donettes coach Brad Hagood said he was happy for my girls and pleased with how they completed.

“I think overall we played really well, and our defense was spot on,” Hagood said. “Hawkins pitched a very good game for us, and I knew we were going to be tested. We just tried to squeak across a run here and there when we had the opportunity, and fortunately, that worked out for us. I'm very happy with the way we've been playing so far this year. I knew it was going to be a test for us, but the girls showed up with the right mindset and made the plays they were supposed to make.”

Freshman Katie Acre led Twin Rivers with two hits in three at-bats. Though the Lady Royals got their first loss, coach Casey Parson said the team has played some solid ball in the first few games. She said the Lady Royals must clean up the few errors they made, but overall, the team has played much better than they did in the fall.

The Donettes will travel to Ste. Genevieve for their next game on Saturday, while the Lady Royals will host Holcomb on Monday.

ROYALS 9, DONS 4

While the Donettes surged past the Lady Royals, the Dons aimed to get their first win of the season as they faced off against the Twin Rivers Royals.

After a back-and-forth battle at the plate, a spark from the Royals at the top of the sixth inning would ultimately give them a 9-4 win over the Dons.

A double by Luke Hester put Twin Rivers on the board in the top of the first. In the bottom of the first inning, the Dons went back into the lead after Lane Dean singled and Blake Lewis walked, each scoring one run.

In the top of the fourth inning, Twin Rivers saw an opening and snatched the lead back after the Dons committed an error, and Kendell Austin hit into a fielder's choice, each scoring one run.

Hester stepped on the bump first for Twin Rivers. The starting pitcher gave up six hits and three runs (one earned) over six innings, striking out 11 and walking two. Keaton Kepley took the loss for the Dons. The starting pitcher went five and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, striking out six and walking two. Jake Hester earned the win for Twin Rivers from the pitchers' mound. He allowed two hits and one run over one inning, striking out three and walking one.

Dean drove the middle of the lineup, leading the Dons with two runs batted in. The infielder went 3-for-4 on the day. Kepley and Dean each collected three hits for Doniphan.

Twin Rivers piled up 13 hits in the game. Austin led the way with three runs batted in. He went 1-for-4 on the day. Hester and Carter Williams each collected three hits for Twin Rivers, while Evan Bonifield and Brett Robards each collected multiple hits also.

Doniphan will play at home on Tuesday against Clearwater in their next game, and Twin Rivers will play at Scott City.