LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
After a lengthy summer wait, softball season is in full swing for the Mayo Redbirds. On Wednesday, Aug. 7, the Redbirds opened the season by hosting the Westville Wildcats.
A series of errors and a flurry of Wildcat runs put the game out of the Redbirds’ reach early, but Mayo Head Coach C.J. Becher was quick to highlight the positives of his team’s performance.
“There were a lot of butterflies to start the game,” said Becher. “Once we dialed in, our defense tightened up and we played them 1-1 in six innings.”
The Redbirds took the field in the top of the first with Ava Tarr on the mound. Three Wildcat batters loaded the bases on a single, an error and a plunk, respectively.
Shortly after, the floodgates opened for Westville. Lillian Pabst grounded out to first, pulling home a Wildcat runner from third base. A pair of errors during the following at-bat put the Redbirds further behind, with two more runners crossing home plate.
Tarr managed to stem the Wildcat tide with a strikeout, but another run crossed home plate on a line drive to left field before Tarr put down the final batter of the inning.
Becher’s crew looked to respond in the bottom of the first, but a line drive double to center from Leah Sanders was all for naught after the Wildcats picked up three outs, stranding her on base. The Redbird’s woes at the plate were a recurring theme during the game.
“We are hitting the (batting) cage hard this week and will need to produce more runs to win games,” Becher explained.
Fortunately, Mayo pieced things together on defense. Molly Becher picked up a pair of outs, snagging a line drive at shortstop before whipping the ball to first to complete a double play early in the second.
Both teams struggled to find their footing at the plate as the game wore on. It was not until the bottom of the sixth inning that the Redbirds snapped their scoring drought and clawed their way onto the scoreboard for the first time this year.
A single from Sloan Vilk turned into a trip around the bases following an error by Westville’s centerfielder. Vilk, now on third, found her way to home plate on a ground-out from Leah Sanders. The score was 4-1, Wildcats.
Westville managed to tack on one final run in the top of the seventh, bringing the final tally to 5-1.
While the outcome was not what he wanted, C.J. Becher remains confident in his team.
“Westville had some great players and pitching. We’ve had some injuries in the first couple weeks and once these girls return we will get stronger,” he said, adding, “All in all, I’m proud of the girls. We are a better team than we showed Wednesday and will get better in a hurry.”
For Mayo, Vilk, Sanders, Harper Pinnell, Krysten McNulty and Hellie Barrett all recorded one hit apiece in the loss. Sanders notched the Redbirds’ lone RBI for the day.
On the mound, Tarr pitched three innings, allowing five hits, four runs (none earned) while striking out four batters. Sanders pitched in relief, giving up one unearned run and tallying four strikeouts of her own.
The Redbirds will have a chance to rectify the loss today, Aug. 10 in Tuscola during a doubleheader against the host team, Tuscola, (10:30 a.m.) and Unity (12 p.m.).