Lady Royals hold off Clearwater

BROSELEY — Both Twin Rivers and Clearwater will compete in the Ozark Foothills Conference softball tournament next week but got a chance to face off early for a taste of the upcoming competition in a Thursday matchup.

After a brief scare from a rally by Clearwater in the final inning, the Lady Royals battled through the adversity to land a 9-7 win.

“I thought we played a very clean game,” Twin Rivers coach Lisa Boyer said. “This is our first game of the season where we didn’t record any errors, and I thought we hit the ball very consistently. Overall, I am pleased because I thought they played a good game.

The Lady Royals came out blazing as junior Abigail Suiter got the ball rolling with a double to center field to bring in two quick runs. Following Suiter, sophomore Emma Vancil connected with a line-drive single past second base for another run, giving the Lady Royals a 3-0 lead.

Clearwater struggled to connect for the next two innings at bat as freshman pitcher Alexis Parson tossed three hitless innings for the Lady Royals. Parson only allowed two hits from the top of the first to the fifth, slowing Clearwater’s chances to make a run.

The Lady Royals continued to smash multiple hits, building a strong 9-2 lead heading into the final inning.

Despite having a 9-2 lead heading into the top of the seventh, Clearwater finally found a groove with a line-drive triple to center field from Makinlee Keister and a single hit from Riley Hurt.

In a few short plays, Clearwater managed to trim down the gap to 9-7.

After what seemed like a coast to victory, it quickly became a battle down to the wire, but the Lady Royals remained composed to close the game.

Charly Johnson led Twin Rivers in hits, going 4-for-4 at the plate and racking up three RBIs. Johnson singled in the first, doubled in the second and singled in the fourth and fifth.

The Lady Royals connected with 14 hits on the day. Vancil, Addysen Whitlow and Reese Crismon all collected multiple hits for Twin Rivers. The Lady Royals didn’t commit a single error in the field.

Parson earned the victory on the mound for the Lady Royals. Parson lasted seven innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs with 12 strikeouts.

While holding a big lead heading into the last inning, Boyer noticed that Parson started to struggle after pitching the full game.

“She was very fatigued there at the end, and her velocity came down slightly,” Boyer said. “She’s only a freshman and still learning about the game. She just has to hit better spots when facing off against those good hitters late in the game. “We just talked about it, and she just knows that when she starts getting fatigued, she needs to push through, but she will be okay as we move forward.”

Clearwater collected nine hits. Eaton, Hurt and Ragan Shearrer each managed multiple hits for the Lady Tigers.

Despite not getting the win, Clearwater coach Shannon England was happy to see his team battle at the end.

“Although I am happy about how we made a run at the end, I wish we could have started that way,” England said. “I tip my hat to Twin Rivers, but I told my team that this is high school sports, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff happen, and then sure enough, we started to make a run.

“It was a performance where you’re not happy that you didn’t win, but you’re happy with the performance at the end because they didn’t quit. I think it says a lot about the grittiness of the team and the fire never to give up.”

Twin Rivers and Clearwater will participate in the OFC softball tournament, which kicks off Tuesday at McLane Park.