C-H wins slugfest against West Greene
Luke Campbell/Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Madyson Smith slides in safely to score during a game last season. Smith is one of several returning players for the Bucs this season.
Chartiers-Houston third baseman Karlyn Bayer throws to first base for an out after fielding a ground ball.
Luke Campbell/Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Lauren Lober is one of five juniors to help lead the Bucs’ lineup this season.
West Greene shortstop Madison Renner (48) trips over Kaitlyn Rizor while tracking down a shallow fly ball to centerfield.
HOUSTON – There were multiple make-up games the Chartiers-Houston and West Greene softball teams could have chosen from on a sunny Wednesday afternoon.
But both coaches, C-H’s Tricia Alderson and West Greene’s Bill Simms, wanted to make sure two of the upper-echelon teams in their respective classifications would find a way play one another after their game was postponed April 7.
The wait was worth it.
After falling behind 4-1, Chartiers-Houston sent nine batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, then held off the feisty Class A defending state champion Pioneers in the final three innings to secure a wild, 13-11 victory in a non-section game.
“We hit every day. We practice hard every day. We were just looking for good pitches to swing at and did a great job the third time through the order,” Alderson said. “We were making sure to swing at pitches in the zone.”
The biggest blow for West Greene (7-2) in the fourth inning was when C-H junior Ella Brookman hit a three-run home run that ended the scoring in the frame and gave the Bucs a 9-5 lead.
Six of the runs they scored in the inning came after two outs.
“They got back in the game and captured the momentum,” Simms said. “In high school sports, momentum is a funny thing. When they got it, they hit the ball extremely hard.”
Matching West Greene swing for swing, something teams haven’t been able to do especially after falling behind, the Bucs continued hitting when it mattered most.
Knowing the Pioneers were still lurking, scoring three times in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 9-8, C-H junior catcher Kasey Scears laced the second pitch of her at-bat over the centerfield fence to build a three-run cushion again, 11-8.
“We knew that we could come back, but also knew (West Greene) was going to keep hitting,” Scears said. “I watched the first strike and was waiting to see a pitch that I liked. I put everything I had into it. We were just trying to keep the momentum going.”
Despite several attempts from West Greene to tie or recapture the lead, the Bucs always had an answer. Two Pioneers’ runs in the top of the sixth were matched by a pair for C-H (7-1) in the bottom half of the inning.
“We knew we were going to have to score with them,” Alderson said about West Greene’s powerful lineup, which averages more than 10 runs per game.
“We were hoping to get insurance runs and hold them down in the seventh because they were coming back to the top of their order.”
The top three hitters for West Greene – McKenna Lampe, Madison Lampe and Madison Renner – combined to go 6-for-11, reached base safely 10 times and scored six runs. All three scored when the Pioneers jumped to a 4-1 lead in the third inning after a two-run home run to left field from Renner and a solo shot to right field by her sister, Jade.
McKenna Lampe had three hits, including two doubles, with two RBI. She also scored twice. Madison Renner, who looked to be injured after colliding chasing a bloop fly ball in shallow center and crumbled in the circle following a pitch later in the game, went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run.
Scears led the Bucs by going 3-for-4. Brookman, a junior transfer from McGuffey High School, went 2-for-4. Each had three RBI.
“We like to be in all kinds of games,” Simms said. “I didn’t see a 13-11 ballgame today. Any time you can learn something from a loss, it is never going to hurt us. We are out to win every game. But our goal is never to be undefeated. If you’re not playing a game like this, against an opponent like that, and go beat somebody by 12 runs, then you aren’t learning much.”
West Greene has forced the mercy rule in three of its four games in section play so far. Chartiers-Houston inflicted the mercy rule four times this season.
“(Chartiers-Houston) is ranked two (in Class 2A). We are ranked No. 1,” Simms said. “That’s why they are on our schedule every year. They want to play us. We want to play them. They want to beat us. We want to beat them. There is a healthy relationship.”