Kennett Sports Roundup: Indian softball team wins two of three weekend games

__SOFTBALL__

The Kennett softball team (7-4) had a rocky start to the season after falling to Stuttgart, Brookland and Obion County in their first three games at the Bearcat Blast Tournament. They rebounded quickly, however, and won their next six matchups handily.

Starting with last Friday's doubleheader, Kennett took care of business in a 20-5 victory over Hollister. Sophomore Emma Bodkin earned the win after pitching all five innings. She threw 95 pitches and 57 strikes for eight strikeouts. She allowed six hits, three walks and five runs.

“When it came to Hollister, we felt good coming into the game,” Kennett coach Logan Dollins said. “We started Emma Claire Bodkin for her first varsity start, and she came out and did really well. She threw a lot of strikes and we capitalized on it by swinging the bats. It was a good day offensively.”

Bodkin, Handley McAtee, Hadley Wilson and Lexie Wallace all collected hits, while Wallace drove in four runs on two hits.

All of Hollister's runs came with a crescendo in the fourth inning, while Kennett scored 14 of their own at that time.

Afterwards Friday evening, they fell to Sparta 1-6.

“We knew from last year that Sparta is extremely talented,” Dollins said. “They have a really good pitcher in the circle, and that's something we needed to see. We got beat 6-1, but when you commit five errors against a good team that's probably going to be the outcome.”

McAtee led the Indians in their second game on the mound and at the plate. She pitched all six innings, throwing 126 pitches and allowing six hits and six runs and walking seven.

McAtee had the most hits on the day with two on three at bats. Barton's one hit and one run was the only score of the night.

“It could have been a totally different game if we played better defense and executed on that side of the field,” Dollins said. “Offensively, we hit the ball hard. We matched them with six hits, but theirs were just a little more timely.”

Barton, McAtee, Wilson, Bodkin and Emma Tinnin together secured Kennett's six hits. Sparta's Natalie Wilks earned the win with 93 pitches over seven innings. She threw 12 strikeouts, walked none and allowed one run.

“From our standpoint, we want to face the best competition we can possibly face to get us ready for May,” Dollins said. “That was the ultimate goal.”

Saturday, they bounced back for a midday 9-5 win over Forsyth.

“Forsyth was very talented. Defensively, they were solid and from our standpoint we were searching to put a game together,” he said. “We did after the second inning.”

In a contentious game lasting 10 innings, Forsyth scored four in the second inning while Kennett put up two points in both the third and fourth innings to tie. Both teams brought in an additional run in the sixth inning as well.

Tied at the top of the tenth, a single by Hadley Wilson brought Lexie Wallace and Lauren Barton home, kicking off the Indians' four-run turning point.

“I was extremely proud of the ways the girls battled, especially the way we executed in the tenth,” he said. “We played some selfless softball, and we had multiple girls who hit for power then would sacrifice bunts to allow someone else to come up and win the ballgame.”

Hadley Wilson and Handley McAtee each shared five innings on the mound to earn the win. Wilson threw 74 pitches, and allowed four hits and four runs with one strikeout. McAtee threw 72 pitches, and she allowed just one hit and one run with eight strikeouts.

McAtee was a powerhouse at the plate once again as she managed five hits and three runs. Tinnin contributed heavily as well with three hits and two RBIs. Wilson and Barton each scored twice.

Next, Kennett travels to Senath Tuesday when they are scheduled to take on Senath-Hornersville with Southland at 3 p.m., and South Pemiscot at 4:30 p.m.

__BASEBALL UPDATE__

The Kennett baseball team (7-2) jumped out to an undefeated seven-win start to the season. That changed last Wednesday, however, as the Indians fell to Nixa 1-6 on the road.

Kennett�s Matt Gardner throws in the ball during the team�s home game against Cape Central last Monday.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Kennett's uncharacteristically sluggish offense was started in the second inning as Caleb Duncan singled a line drive to the outfield and brought in Trey Gardner. Nixa tied the game in the fourth inning.

Led primarily by Jackson Gamble on the mound, Nixa halted Kennett's batting. Gamble pitched six innings with six strikeouts while allowing just four hits and one run.

Kennett wouldn't score again, but Nixa added four runs to their total in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth.

The Indians tested three pitchers in that game: Trey Gardner, Peyton Branum and Jaxon Patterson. Gardner started, and he allowed two hits and one run on 52 pitches over 3.1 innings.

The same day, Kennett secured a 6-2 win over Republic High School.

Branum started in the circle while Gardner returned in relief later. Branum allowed three hits and two runs over three innings and struck out one. Gardner threw for the final four innings and allowed only one hit and zero runs with 30 strikes on 46 pitches with two strikeouts.

Collecting 11 total hits, Matthew and Trey Gardner each scored twice while Tanner Pierce and John Poole each contributed one.

In their final game until the Indians travel to South Gibson County High School to take on the hosts as well as Scotts Hill Wednesday, Kennett lost a stalemate game to Ozark last Thursday.

Matthew Gardner and Brooks Nigut scored Kennett's only runs of the game. Hayden Gilmore started on the mound and allowed three hits and five runs on 38 pitches over two innings. Tanner Pierce relieved him for the final four innings. He allowed two hits and one run on 42 pitches.

Ozark's offense picked up in the second inning when they scored three runs to Kennett's zero. Kennett scored two in the third, but Ozark scored one more in the fifth for the final of the game.