By CHARLIE HUST
Webster County High School softball squad opened it season with a bang on Saturday, drilling Hopkinsville 12-2 in five innings.
The Lady Trojans broke open a close 3-2 game with a nine-run rally in the fifth inning, highlighted by a 3-run homer from Christian Papineau.
WCHS drew first blood with two runs in the top of the first on three straight doubles from Kelsey Mays, Macye Davis and Jerrica Jones.
Hopkinsville cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame courtesy of some sloppy fielding from Webster. With one out, the Lady Trojans committed four straight errors to allow one run and two runners on base. But WC starter Bailey Townsend enticed Kendall Schlosser to hit into double play to end the threat.
The 2-1 score stood until the Lady Trojans rallied for a run in the top of the fourth. Georgia Keeney ripped a one-out single and Townsend reached on a HHS fielding error. Both runners moved up a base on a double steal and then Keeney jogged home on a RBI-single from Kristin Jones to push the lead to 3-1.
Webster then exploded for nine runs in the top of the fifth to take a commanding 12-1 advantage.
Mays, Davis and Jerrica Jones all reached base thanks to three straight fielding errors from Hopkinsville. Georgia Keeney then laid down a bunt that allowed Mays to score followed by another Hoptown error on Bailey Townsend’s grounder that drove in two more runs.
Kristin Jones kept the rally going with her second RBI-single of the game. That set the table for Papineau’s 3-run blast over the left field fence to extend Webster’s lead to 10-1. Madison Townsend followed with a walk and then Papineau and Townsend both scored on a double from Mays.
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| Seniors |
Mays, Keeney and Jones all had two hits to lead the 10-hit parade for the Lady Trojans. Papineau, Davis, Jerrica Jones and Kayleigh Wood added one hit each.
Bailey Townsend was very efficient on the pitching mound, working all five innings and allowing no earned runs on four hits while striking out three.
Both teams struggled in the field in the season-opener as WCHS committed five errors while the Lady Tigers fueled the Webster offense with seven miscues.
Webster is back in action Thursday taking on the region’s top-rated team in Henderson County in Henderson. The Lady Trojans continue action against district-rivals on Friday, hosting Union County. Webster will travel to Trigg County on Saturday.
•Webster’s freshman softball squad slipped past Madisonville-North Hopkins 6-5 in its opener last Saturday.
Karlie Keeney allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out five and walking just two Lady Maroons.
WC opened the game with a run in the first on a Alison Night double followed by back-to-back single from Kari and Kaci Wood. The Lady Trojan’s lead grew to 2-0 in the second on a double from Sydney Lewis and an RBI-single from Knight. Keeney walked and scored on a pair of Madisonville errors in the third to make it 3-2.
Webster’s big rally came in the fourth, putting three runs on the scoreboard to take a 6-2 lead. Kayla Yates reached on an error, moved to second on a sac bunt from Knight and then sprinted to third on a passed ball. She sprinted home on a grounder from Rylee Warford that was also misplayed by the Lady Maroon defense. Kari Wood then delivered a one-out single to plate Warford and she later came around to score on Keeney’s run-scoring ground ball.
Keeney then calmed a Madisonville rally in the bottom of the fifth, working around a pair of WCHS fielding errors and a hit batter that opened the door for three runs to trim the lead to 6-5.