MORAN — The Marmaton Valley High softball team began their season by dropping a couple of home games against St. Paul on Monday evening.
The Wildcats (0-2) went ahead in the bottom of the first in game one, 1-0, but St. Paul unloaded for nine runs in the fourth inning alone for a 25-12 stomping. Marmaton Valley then allowed their pitching to get the best of them in the second game, losing 20-11.
Game one
Pitching was the name of the game and the downfall for Marmaton Valley in their season opener as the runs piled up, especially in the later innings, of a 25-12 defeat.
The Wildcats jumped on top early when Brooklyn Adams got on base as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first and later scored on a Braelyn Sutton RBI double for the 1-0 lead.
Tayven Sutton began the game at pitcher for the Wildcats. Sutton struck out three of the first four batters she faced in the first inning. Sutton finished off the Indians while only facing four batters again in the second inning.
“I think she (Tayven) came out strong. She was throwing well,” said Marmaton Valley head coach Brenda Mills. “She was disappointed on some of the calls but we have to work on our catcher position too.”
The first run that Sutton allowed to score was by Josie Harris on a passed ball for the 1-1 score in the top of the third inning.
Marmaton Valley scratched four more runs across the board in the third as Bailey LaRue knocked a single then stole her way home for the 2-1 advantage. Adams, B. Sutton and Payton Scharff also came around to score in the third and grab an early 4-1 lead.
“I was proud of the way they played and they didn’t give up,” said Mills. “It’s easier to lay down but they kept coming back and trying to score. I thought we did a nice job hitting and running the bases. They didn’t give up.”
The fourth inning was when St. Paul began to take advantage of Marmaton Valley’s pitching and fielding and scored nine runs for a 10-4 lead. All eight of the Indians’ runs in the fourth came on steals and passed balls.
The Wildcats responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth including LaRue coming around again to score after she knocked a leadoff single. Marmaton Valley trailed St. Paul heading to the fifth inning, 10-7.
Marmaton Valley was outscored by St. Paul in the final three innings, 15-5, and the Wildcats ultimately fell by a final of 25-12.
The Wildcats collected 10 hits and were led at the plate by Adams, Scharff, Sutton and LaRue’s two hits apiece.
Game two
