After Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Prairie View in game one at Riverside Park, senior shortstop Sydney Wade went into the dugout and told her team “We are not a 1-7 team,” in an effort to inspire them for game two.
Unfortunately after game two’s 4-3 loss, the Fillies are 1-7.
While the Fillies may be the best 1-7 team in the state with nearly every game being a close loss coach Chris Weide realizes adjustments need to be made — beginning with him.
One of the biggest sequences in game one occurred with senior first baseman Riley Murry leading off the bottom of the sixth inning — after the Buffalos scored three runs in the top of the inning to take a 3-2 lead.
Murry struck a ball into left field for what would have been an easy stand-up double, but Weide and Murry chose to test the Prairie View left fielder’s arm and try to get to third.
Murry was thrown out at third base to open the inning and Weide put the blame squarely on himself.
“Our girls need to continue what they are doing and their coach needs to quit running them out of innings,” Weide said. “I am serious when I say that I can not make outs for our team while we are batting. I explained to the girls after the game that I will stay aggressive, but I need to pick my points better.”
To make it even more painful for Weide and his Fillies, center fielder Jadyn Sigg — the team’s senior clean-up hitter — singled to center field a batter later and the hit could have scored Murry if she had been on second.
“I lost that first game for us,” Weide said. “Those girls played a great game and I made the first out at third base with Jadyn Sigg coming up. I can’t do that and it won’t happen again… I told the girls that it really sucks to lose any game, but it really sucks even more when your coach loses it.”
The game certainly wasn’t all on that one play though as the Fillies managed just six hits the entire game.
A bright spot for the Fillies in game one was the continued improvement of the bottom third of the’ batting order.
“The growth is there,” Weide said. “The girls are starting to hit the ball and get really good swings on the ball. This pitcher was really good and changed speeds.”
Freshman Kelsey Morrison scored one of the team’s two runs when she led off with a single in the fifth inning. The left fielder scored on Wade’s two-out triple.
Sophomore second baseman Madisyn Holloway also had a hit from the nine-hole in the lineup.
Sophomore pitcher Sierra Snavely threw all seven innings and allowed nine hits while walking one and striking out one.
GAME TWO
Prairie View was able to jump out to a big lead in the second game when a pair of errors helped the Buffalos score four runs in the third inning.
The Fillies were quiet until the fifth inning when sophomore catcher Kendra Sprague led off with a single and later came around to score the team’s first run.
The team’s exchanged scoreless half innings and the Fillies went into the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run deficit.
After the Buffalos got a strikeout to begin the inning, the bottom third of the Fillies’ lineup sparked a rally.
Morrison, Sprague and Holloway had back-to-back-to-back singles to score one run and put the game tying run on first base for the top of Iola’s order.
That is where the rally ended, however. Wade hit into a fielder’s choice and junior third baseman Chloe Gardner flew out to left field for the final out.
Snavely pitched all seven innings. Although she allowed 12 hits, only one of her runs allowed was earned.
Despite their record dropping to 1-7 this season, Weide believes that his team still has all of its best ball in front of it.
“I talked to the girls and there is no doubt in my mind or in their minds that we are going to be in a good spot at the end of the season,” Weide said. “We lost two games tonight to a state-qualifying team last year, who lost one girl. We are right there.”
The goal of making the state tournament is still in front of the Fillies and although, a 1-7 record may be cause for panic for some it isn’t for Weide.
“With the girls that we have, we know that they are not going to give up,” Weide said. “I know they have the talent, they know they have talent and we knew the top of our schedule was stacked. We have played Independence, who was third in the state, Prairie View, who went to state, and Burlington, who got third in the state. That is a stacked schedule, not that we can’t win some of those games, but those girls know and I know where we are going to be at the end of the year. We believe it and we are going to just let everybody sit back and watch and we will see where 1-7 takes us.”
After all, who doesn’t love a good come-back story.
UP NEXT
The Fillies’ season will continue on Tuesday when they host Osawatomie at Riverside Park.
