Lady Yoe softball blows away Florence 16-5 in district match up
The Lady Yoe softball team blew away the Florence Lady Buffaloes on Tuesday 16-5 in five innings by way of the ten-run rule.
Starting pitcher, Peyton Polson (18), allowed a lead off walk. A Florence player then reached first base on a throwing error. Cameron then gave up a run on a groundout. Polson allowed a two out walk, then gave up a second run on a single.
Coach Chris Summerfield made quick pitching change in the inning. Nevaeh Billingsley (15) came in for Polson. Billingsley allowed a third run on a wild pitch. The inning came to an end on a groundout.
Cameron got things started on offense with a lead off triple by Lauren Harris (1) in the bottom of the first inning. The Lady Yoe scored their first run of the game as Mia Wimmer (14) launched a rocket to centerfield for an RBI (runs batted in) double. Lindsay Talafuse (11) reached first base on a fielding error and then stole second base. Wimmer scored on an RBI groundout by McKenzi Lara (5) for the second run of the game for the Lady Yoe.
The bottom of the first inning ended on a pop out. Billingsley backed up her team and pitched a shutout second inning. Brooklyn McCall (8) got things started with a one out single. She would come home to score off of an RBI triple by Hailey Tucker (6) to tie the game. Harris reached first base on a walk, then stole second base. Tucker came home on a wild pitch to take the lead 4-3. Wimmer hit an RBI single over the outstretched hands of the shortstop taking a 5-3 lead.
The Lady Yoe kept it up with an RBI single by Camryn Ward (4) for a 6-3 lead and then stole second base. Lara added on with another RBI double for a 7-3 game. Cameron continued the onslaught with another RBI single by Brianna Acosta (10) for an 8-3 game.
The bottom of the second inning ended on a strikeout. Billingsley backed up her team’s offensive explosion and pitched a clean third inning. McCall got the bottom of the third inning started with a leadoff walk. Tucker reached first base on a throwing error and wound up landing at third base. She would reach home on an RBI sacrifice fly by Harris making it a 9-3 lead. Wimmer then reached first base on a fielding error.
The offensive outburst continued to pile on when Talafuse crushed a two RBI triple for an 11-3 game. Cameron continued to extend the lead with an RBI single by Ward for a 12-4 lead, then stole second base. Cameron scored two more runs on a two run error by Florence making the score 14-3. The bottom of the third inning eventually ended on a groundout. Coach Chris Summerfield made a pitching change to start the fourth inning. Samantha Frausto (12) came in for Billingsley.
“She was working the edges of the plate and keeping the ball in the strike zone, and our defense was really good, so we got in a good rhythm defensively making plays,” Coach Chris Sommerfield said regarding the pitching from Billingsley.
Frausto allowed a leadoff walk, then eventually got into early trouble, allowing the bases to be loaded. Frausto allowed a bases loaded walk for a 14-4 game. After that, Coach Chris Summerfield made another pitching change. Polson would return to the mound and came in for Frausto. Polson hit a batter forcing in a run for reducing the lead to 14-5.
The inning ended on an incredible double play from third to catcher as Talafuse caught the groundball and tagged third base, then immediately threw to the catcher, Wimmer, to get the runner heading for home plate. The bottom of the fourth inning started with a leadoff walk by Harris, then stole second base and then third. Those were just two of many stolen bases, which Sommerfield believes is the best way to put the opposing pitcher at ease.
“It puts more people in scoring position,” Sommerfield said. “Little bloops score more people, errors, passed balls, just the more people you can get in scoring position and put pressure on the defense. It’s just stress and it will start breaking a team.”
Harris was brought home on an RBI triple by Talafuse. She would then be brought home on an RBI sacrifice fly by Ward. The bottom of the fourth inning ended on a pop out. Polson would pitch a shutout top of the fifth inning to seal the victory on the ten run rule for Cameron’s win 16-5. With this win, the Lady Yoe redeemed themselves after the heartbreaking loss to Lexington in extra innings the previous day.
“I thought we came out a little flat from the loss yesterday, but we recovered and started playing with a lot of energy and passion after that first inning,” Sommerfield said.
The Lady Yoe will finish off the season on Friday against the Little River Academy Lady Bees. The game will be at Little River Academy and first pitch will be at 7:30 p.m. They are 10-18 on the season.