Softball: Holcomb defeats Malden and Senath-Hornersville; Senath-Hornersville downs Malden

MALDEN – Three teams – Malden, Holcomb and Senath-Hornersville – settled in for a long day of softball Monday, April 17, on the Green Wave's home turf. The Lady Hornets came out victorious in both games, and Senath-Hornersville rallied to prevent a late Malden comeback.

__Holcomb defeats Malden 19-8__

In the first game of the afternoon, Malden took an early 4-2 lead with runs scored by Mariah Loya, Rachel Rommel, Brydon Maddox and Addison Buchanan. The Hornets followed it up by scoring five in the second, however, while holding Malden scoreless.

Leading 8-6 after the third, Holcomb brought in nine additional runs in the fourth inning which secured the victory.

“Today, we just hit the ball really well,” Holcomb coach Matt Casper said. “As long as we can continue to do that, it gives us a good chance to win. It gives our pitchers and defense a chance to sit back and relax and play with a lead. It makes all the difference in the world.”

For the Hornets, Ella and Maleigh Lemings, Libbey Callis and Harmony White all crossed home plate three times in the first game. Ava Gurley and Kaetlyn Danley each added two runs, and Jules Gurley, Chloe Hendrix and Katelynn Sweaney added one apiece.

Ella Lemings had a 5-RBI game after hitting a home run and a grand slam in her first two at-bats. Kaetlyn Danley also hit her first home run of the season, which brought in another batter as well.

Junior Jaden Bowen pitched all five innings for Holcomb. She faced 30 batters, threw 87 pitches and 45 strikes for one strikeout. She allowed nine hits, six walked batters, nine runs and committed six errors.

Malden's Rachel Rommel in instructed by coach Kyle Jones upon making it to third base in a game against Holcomb on Monday.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

For the Green Wave, two pitchers spent time in the circle, but Rachel Rommel led the way after pitching for four innings. She faced 33 batters and threw 115 pitches and 60 strikes for three strikeouts. Rommel allowed 12 hits and six walked batters for 17 runs while committing nine errors.

Kinley Buchanan relieved Rommel for the last inning and allowed one hit and two runs after facing five batters and throwing 13 pitches.

“We're still young,” Malden coach Kyle Jones said. “We just have too keep working and get back to practice. We need to work on fundamentals, and that's it. We've got some hitters, but defensively we need a lot of work.”

Loya and Rommel both connected one two hits and scored one of Malden's eight runs. Alyssa Broom scored two runs on a hit and a walk. Brydon Maddox, Camryn Ellison, Addison Buchanan and Lachia Reed all contributed one.

__Holcomb defeats Senath-Hornersville 15-1__

After a short break, Holcomb did it again. This time, Chloe Hendrix brought five batters home with three hits and a run on four at-bats. The Hornets scored three runs in the first inning to take the lead early.

Hendrix took Holcomb from nine to 12 runs in the bottom of the third inning with another home run that brought Ella Lemings and Jules Gurley home.

“All the way up and down the lineup, we have threats,” Casper said. “We're working towards the end of the season now, so hopefully this will carry over.”

A bright spot for Senath-Hornersville came on the first at-bat of the second inning as Kylie Walker knocked out her own home run to left field for the Lions' only run of the game.

Senath-Hornersville's Kyle Walker is congratulated on a home run in a game against Holcomb on Monday. Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Holcomb managed three runs in the first inning, four in the second, five in the third and three in the fourth in their last inning at bat.

Ava Gurley led in scoring with four runs on two hits. Kaetlyn Danley scored three, Maleigh Lemings and Jules Gurley scored two, and Ella Lemings, Chloe Hendrix and Katelynn Sweaney each contributed one.

Gurley pitched all five innings against Senath-Hornersville. She faced 20 batters and threw 68 pitches and 34 strikes for one strikeout. Gurley allowed three hits and a run with two walked batters, and she committed a single error.

“Our pitching did a good job of throwing strikes and limiting walks,” Casper said. “These are two good Class 2, Bootheel Conference schools, and we knew it wouldn't be easy. We knew our defense would have to make plays, and they did that.”

Kaya Horton, Kylie Walker and Emma Sample each connected on a hit for Senath-Hornersville. The Lions' offense failed to pick up steam after Walker's home run, but the next game would be a different story.

“We've been working on hitting more and trying to come out strong in the first couple innings,” Senath-Hornersville coach Melani Rooney said. “We did some extra hitting the other day to get ready.”

Walker and Katie McClelland each spent two innings in the circle for the Lions. Walker started and threw 47 pitches and 31 strikes for a strikeout, and she allowed eight hits and seven runs with four errors.

McClelland faced 16 batters and threw 41 pitches, 28 strikes and zero strikeouts. She allowed seven hits, eight runs and a single walked batter with three errors.

__Senath-Hornersville defeats Malden 16-8__

An early lead by the Lions, a lucky catch in the outfield and a missed momentum swing led Senath-Hornersville to victory in the final game of the evening.

“We were really down after the first game, but now they're excited and they're all about it,” Senath-Hornersville coach Melani Rooney said. “And they know they can play that well – it's just about staying consistent. We can hit the ball, we can field, we can come out here and keep it going.”

Kylie Walker got Senath-Hornersville's offense moving after stealing home on a wild pitch in the top of the second inning. She also secured her second home run of the day in the top of the third, which brought Jada Burlison home as well.

Senath-Hornersville's Jada Burlison celebrates making it to second base while the dugout cheers her on in a game against Malden on Monday.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

The Lions picked up a run in the second inning and scored four more in the third before Malden began gaining traction.

The Green Wave nearly matched Senath-Hornersville in hits – 11 to the Lions' 13 – but errors and defensive miscues led to a lopsided final score.

Walker churned out five runs for Senath-Hornersville, in spite of being intentionally walked for the last half of the game. Burlison followed with three, and Horton, Annabelle Carlisle and Halle Jamerson all scored two. Chloe Edmonston and McClelland both added one.

“It was a big district and conference win for us,” Rooney said. “In the first game I felt like we came out slow, but we really picked it up and got our bats hot in the second game. We made some great plays out in the field like I know we can, and I hope we can keep that going.”

McClelland also pitched all seven innings for the Lions. The senior faced 36 batters, and she threw 122 pitches and 67 strikes for four strikeouts. She allowed 11 hits, five walked batters and eight runs with six errors.

Freshman Alyssa Broom led the Green Wave in the circle for nearly the entire game. She similarly faced 42 batters and threw 118 pitches and 72 strikes for five strikeouts. She allowed 12 hits, five walks and 16 runs with six errors.

Malden's Alyssa Broom throws a pitch in a game against Senath-Hornersville Monday. Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

“I want to give some credit to our pitcher,” Malden coach Kyle Jones said. “(Broom) is a freshman, and looking at the score you'd think she didn't pitch well, but she worked her butt off and threw the ball really well. Just some let downs on defense cost us.”

Broom also racked up four hits for Malden, which resulted in two runs and an RBI. Maddox scored two runs, and Loya, Buchanan and Kaitlynn Sparks each contributed one.

Buchanan closed the door with 10 pitches and eight strikes for two strikeouts and allowed only one hit.

“We just have to get better with the fundamentals,” Jones said. “Same thing with the first game, we had too many errors and it cost us. We had a good first inning, but we put a couple duds up and we have to get better with the bats.”

Malden had a chance to catch up in the bottom of the sixth inning with a runner on second and third. An interference call brought back a runner and led to two outs. Then Senath-Hornersville's Lyvana Reyes-Lopez made a clutch catch in the outfield to end the game preventing a Green Wave comeback as they gained momentum.

“I was really proud with how they battled back,” Jones continued. “We kept fighting, but we had a lot of mental lapses and that pretty much lost the game for us.”

Malden (9-9) travels to Caruthersville tonight at 4:30 p.m. Senath-Hornersville (8-3) hosts Gideon tonight at 4:30 p.m. Holcomb (16-4) hosts Campbell Thursday at 4:30 p.m.