Lady Mules fall to Notre Dame

With three road wins under their belt, the Poplar Bluff High School Lady Mules softball squad aimed to grab their first home win against a fierce opponent.

During Tuesday’s softball matchup, the Lady Mules faced off with the Norte Dame Lady Bulldogs, and due to a mid-inning collapse, the Lady Mules fell short 12-5.

Though it’s still early in the season, head softball coach Aaron Duncan is big on growth with the Lady Mules, as he wants them to compete from start to finish.

“We got to play hungry,” Duncan said. “We were up 3-2 at one point, but we allowed minor mistakes to hurt us, and those mistakes turned into serval unearned runs. For us to get better, we just have to grow and be able to play seven innings.”

Notre Dame stepped up to the plate first, and with an early error made by the Lady Mules, senior Avery Wagoner got an easy run in for a quick 1-0 lead. Without a response, the Lady Bulldogs would capitalize again with a sacrifice bunt from Heidi LeGrand to bring in another run for a 2-0 to kick off the second inning.

The Lady Mules began picking up momentum by connecting with multiple base hits, but getting a player across home plate remained non-existent.

The success for the Lady Mules would quickly pick up within the next few innings with a single ground ball from Maggie King to bring in a run and a fly ball double to left field from senior Kennedy Zgaynor, which brought in two runs.

Though the Lady Mules managed to hold the game 3-3 at the top of the fourth, a series of errors in the outfield would cost them fall back under Notre Dame. The Lady Bulldogs found themselves in a perfect position to regain the lead by capitalizing on the Lady Mules’ late collapse.

Heading into the top of the fifth with a 5-3 lead, the Lady Bulldogs would continue to land multiple hits to extend the lead. LeGrand kicked off the run for Notre Dame with a single fly ball to right field, and freshman Eloiza Marquez connected with a ground ball hit to take an 8-3 lead and close the window for a comeback story. Despite collecting a couple of runs late in the game from the Lady Mules, it wasn’t enough to get past the hot Lady Bulldogs.

Taylor Kutz started on the mound for Notre Dame, and the starting pitcher allowed eight hits and three runs over six innings, striking out six and walking one.

Notre Dame tallied 12 hits in the game, and leadoff hitter Wagoner led the team with three hits in five at-bats. Jacie Smith and LeGrand each drove in two runs for the Lady Bulldogs, while Lauren Estes and Colleen Jimerson each collected multiple hits for Notre Dame.

The Lady Bulldogs’ head softball coach Ray Reinagel said the team’s performance was good, and it started from the mound with solid pitching from junior Taylor Kutz.

“I got a good performance out of Taylor today,” Reinagel said. “She’s been our mainstay on the mound. She gets good looks and keeps hitters off balance. We’re young and inexperienced and still making mistakes, but once we clean those up, this team will be tougher competition.”

Reinagel said what turned this tight game around was the pressure they put on the Lady Mules’ defense, which caused them to make mistakes and allowed Notre Dame to take advantage of it.

The Lady Mules Varsity accumulated 11 hits in the game. Elizabeth Blancett and Valenzuela each collected three hits for the Lady Mules. Zgaynor led the team with two runs batted in. The infielder went 1-for-4 on the day.

The Lady Mules are back in action as they are scheduled to hit the road in a face-off against Naylor (0-5) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.