Mt. Pleasant, New London softball teams go 2-1 in DC tourney

BY ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

BLOOMFIELD ? The seventh-ranked Mt. Pleasant softball team and the eighth-ranked New London softball team each went 2-1 at the Davis County tournament in Bloomfield on Tuesday, ahead of their big showdown in New London tonight.

The Panthers opened the day with a 10-0 win over Davis County. They suffered their first loss, 5-1, against No. 5 (2A) Eddyville-Blakesburg, but then bounced right back with an 8-1 win over Albia.

New London fell to Albia, 8-0, but took down Eddyville-Blakesburg, 4-1, and Davis County, 9-2.

The Panthers came out hot against Davis County, scoring four runs in the first and six runs in the third to take an early 10-0 lead. The Mustangs couldn?t make up any ground in the late innings and the game ended in a 10-run rule.

Bailey Johnson started in the circle and went five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Sarah Moffett and Kaley White each led the team with two hits apiece. Moffett was 2-3 with two RBIs and White was 2-3 with one run scored. Cali Liechty went 1-2 with two RBIs and one run scored. Chi Glaha, Anni Liechty, Jackie Fraise and Morgan Fraise each had one RBI.

Mt. Pleasant struggled to get runs across against Eddyville-Blakesburg. The Rockets scored two runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth. The Panthers? only run came in the sixth.

Jackie finished the game 2-3 with a double and an RBI to lead the team. Anni scored the only run for Mt. Pleasant.

Cali started the game in the circle for the Panthers. She was tagged with the loss, throwing six innings and giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six.

The Mt. Pleasant bats erupted again against Albia. The Panthers led 2-1 after four innings and busted the game open with three in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Johnson blasted her third homerun of the year and finished 2-4 with five RBIs and one run scored. Julie Lasswell was 2-3 with an RBI. Cali was 2-3 with a double and Glaha was 2-4 with two runs scored.

Johnson picked up her second win of the day pitching. She threw six innings and gave up one earned run on three hits and four walks, while striking out two.

New London had a rare off game offensively in their 8-0 loss against Albia. The Tigers picked up three hits, one each by Victoria Noel, Josten Boyer and Jade Christensen. The Blue Demons picked up two runs in the third inning and six in the fifth.

Camryn Blint was in the circle for New London and gave up eight runs (five earned) on seven hits and one walk, while striking out two. Sydni Coleman came in for one inning of relief and threw a shutout inning.

New London got off to a good start against the fifth-ranked Rockets with a run in the first inning. Eddyville-Blakesburg tied the game up in the fifth but the Tigers added three in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead, where it would finish.

Morgan Christner and Sydni Coleman combined to shut the Rockets down. Christner threw five innings and gave up one earned run on six hits and one walk, while striking out nine. Coleman threw two innings and gave up one hit and no walks, while striking out one.

Breanna Mettler led the team offensively, going 2-2 with an RBI. Christner, Boyer and Kenadi Schulte had one RBI apiece.

In their second win of the day, the Tigers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit. After a Mustang run in the first inning, New London scored two in the second, five in the third and two in the fourth. Davis County added one in the fifth, but the Tigers still cruised to a 9-2 win.

Victoria Noel had a huge game at the plate. She was 3-4 with a double, four RBIs and a stolen base. Christensen had a great game as well, going 3-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Boyer was 2-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Mt. Pleasant moved to 10-1 overall after the day was done. New London moved to 5-2. The Panthers and Tigers are set to face off tonight (Wednesday) in New London. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.