Macomb High sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first against Prairieland Conference foe West Prairie/Southeastern before withstanding a late Cyclones’ comeback to finally subdue WP/SE 17-5 in six innings Wednesday at MHS Field.
The first seven MHS batters reached against WP/SE starter Adriana Starks before freshman Arianna Soule came on relief for the Cyclones to eventually shut the door on the inning.
MHS sophomore starter Kinley Sloan allowed a lead-off single to Kenadie Webster but kept WP/SE off the scoreboard until the top of the third.
Webster reached on an error to lead-off the third before stealing second and eventually came around to score on consecutive wild pitches to make it a 10-1 score.
The Bombers would respond in the bottom of the frame when sophomore Brooklyn Lyles and senior Lauren Schmalshof led off with back-to-back triples before Sloan brought in Schmalshof with a sacrifice fly to make it 12-1.
Sophomore Lilyan Schmalshof followed with a single and would later score on a WP/ SE error to extend the lead to 13-1.
The Cyclones would mount a rally in the top of the fifth when Sloan issued a oneout walk to sophomore Ella Tippey before junior Tegan Rigg and Starks hit consecutive singles to load the bases.
WP/SE would get within 13-5 thanks in part to a pair of wild pitches, a fielder’s choice and an infield error before Sloan stopped the threat.
The Cyclones would threaten again in the sixth after sophomore Kaylee Jackson reached on an infield single and Rigg drew a two-out walk before another wild pitch put runners on second and third. Sloan would retire Starks on a groundout to end the inning.
The Bombers put the game away in the sixth when senior Peyton Corbin was hit by a pitch to lead off before freshman Lilian Goc drew a walk from Soule. Junior Reagan Knowles reached on an infield single to load the bases. Corbin would score on an infield error before Lyles hit a ground ball to third and Goc was thrown out at home for the first out.
With the score 14-5, Sloan then drilled a bases-clearing double to left to end the game.
“A win's, a win...we’ll take it,” said MHS head coach Madelyn Belville. “But, I told the girls that seeing the same pitcher three times through the lineup, you have to be able to make adjustments at the plate and we didn’t do well with that.”
“We hit the ball well and that’s what we’ve been working on,” Belville added.
MHS (2-1, 1-0) pounded out 14 hits and were led by Lyles who went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in.
Sloan earned the victory by striking out six and walking five while also knocking in six runs for the Bombers.
Starks took the loss for WP/SE (0-3, 0-1) who were held to just five hits in the contest.
“I told the girls when we were done that I was proud of the way they battled,” said WP/ SE head coach Cyle Rigg. “We got ourselves in a big hole early, but we hung right with them throughout the rest of the game.”
Rigg was also pleased with the performance by Soule who went 5.1 innings in relief after pitching six innings the day before against Pittsfield.
“She’s done a really nice job for us,” said Rigg. “She’s around the plate and if our defense is behind her, she’s going to be really tough. We just have to continue to make plays. We’re still trying to figure out our defense as a team right now.”
WP/SE was scheduled to play its fourth game in four days with a Prairieland Conference contest at Brimfield/Elmwood Thursday while MHS will next travel to Vermont on Friday to take on South Fulton in another Prairieland Conference matchup.
