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Washington Evening Journal
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Panther softball hounded by Fort Madison
Close game turns into runaway in final innings
MT. PLEASANT — Midway through the Mt. Pleasant softball team’s Southeast Conference clash with Fort Madison on Thursday, the game was still very much a tossup. A few frames later, the Bloodhounds had flexed their muscle.
Despite an early lead, Mt. Pleasant fell by 13 runs against the Bloodhounds. A huge late rush from Fort Madison led to a 17-4 victory, in six innings.
Fort Madison scored one run in the top of the second inning, but Mt. Pleasant strung together some hits to come back and take the lead in the second. After two frames, it was Mt. Pleasant in front, 2-1.
Fort Madison tied the game in the third, and then with the game knotted up at 3-3 after three frames, the Bloodhounds rattled off 15 runs over the next three at-bats, including an eight-run sixth inning.
“They had some breaks there to extend the lead,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Mike Beason. “And then they kind of close the door.”
Mt. Pleasant entered the bottom of the sixth down 17-2. The Panthers pushed across two runs but couldn’t get anymore.
The Panthers had six hits on the day. Two of those came off the bat of senior Ella McNamee, who finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Saige Burchett was 2-for-3 as well. Jolynn Martin went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Another senior who picked up an RBI on Senior Night was Jayden Housh. Jersey Beachy, the other senior who saw the field went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
“They come to work every day and give us the best they can,” said Beason about his seniors. “We're going to miss them, but luckily we've got a couple more games with them.”
Jolynn Martin gave up 11 runs (10 earned) in the loss. Myah Starr gave up six runs (four earned) in relief.
Mt. Pleasant finished the conference season with a 1-14 record. Their lone win came against Keokuk, a squad the Panthers will play on the road on Thursday night.
