HAMLER — Two weeks prior to Tuesday’s Division VI district quarterfinal softball game between Patrick Henry and Liberty Center, the Lady Patriots were held scoreless and limited to just two hits in the same matchup.
PH did not stumble again, besting the Lady Tigers in tournament play Tuesday, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings en route to a 9-6 win on its home field at PH High School.
“We really worked on it the last two weeks,” PH coach Mike Meyer said of his team’s better performance at the plate Tuesday. “We knew we had a chance to play them, we knew it could be the same pitcher. We came out and we were hitting and good things happened — a couple errors and a couple walks. Them scoring two runs and us coming back and getting three was huge for us. We could’ve rolled over because that’s sort of what we did at Liberty — they got six runs and we just said it’s over.
“They have a great team, they don’t give up — you saw that — but my girls made some great plays.”
PH, which improved to 17-4 overall, returns to action Friday at Pettisville for a regular season game. The Lady Patriots continue tournament play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Archbold’s Memorial Park against today’s Montpelier/Wayne Trace winner.
The Lady Tigers end their season at 11-9 overall.
LC, which used a six-run third inning to win the first meeting, opened Tuesday’s game with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning.
The Lady Patriots did not roll over, though, using consecutive one-out walks in the bottom half to gets their offense going.
Sophie Schwab, who was 3 for 4 with two RBI, followed the two walks with an RBI single, which prompted a quick LC pitching change. Illy Schwiebert followed with an RBI on a sac-bunt to tie the score before Brooke Scherdt’s swing scored another run on a third-base error.
The Lady Tigers knotted the score in the second inning, as Macie Krugh roped an RBI single to center field, but the half-inning ended with the batter called out while standing between first and second base with the ball in the pitcher’s circle.
PH again responded in the bottom half of the frame, scoring three runs to take another lead, which it never relinquished.
After a leadoff strikeout by LC pitcher Mackenzie Fuller, Haylee Haas walked and Kasey Nelson moved her to second with a sac-bunt. Mariah Boyer drove in Haas on a shortstop error before Grace Behnfeldt belted an RBI double to deep right-center and Schwab capped the inning with an RBI single up the middle for a 6-3 lead.
“We’ve been struggling the last couple games of jumping on teams early — we wait until the fourth inning. I told them, coming in to today, we have to score early, we have to jump early if we can,” coach Meyer said. “And then they (score) two and I’m thinking, oh, here I am again. But we came in and got three and then another three and it’s a new ballgame then. Then you go from down here to … now I can pump my chest up. … And we hit some hard balls.”
PH added to its lead in the fourth and fifth innings, sparked by Haas’ leadoff double in the fourth before Behnfeldt drove her in with an RBI single to right field. Schwab followed with a well-struck single to the center-field fence, but LC’s relay throw to home nabbed the final out of the inning.
In the fifth, Schwiebert grounded to third base, but reached second base due to an error. Elisiana Wyandt hit a one-out RBI single to center, which prompted another LC pitching change, going back to starter Ella Miller.
The Lady Patriots, after a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases, added a ninth run on a dropped throw to the catcher for a would-be force out. The inning ended on the next batter, though, as Boyer lined out to Aubree Zeiter in center field, who rifled a throw back into second base to double off the runner.
LC did not quit, attempting to rally in the seventh inning, as Fuller roped a one-out single before Bailey Crow belted an RBI single to bring the Lady Tigers within 9-6. Lainey Hammontree and Kylie Pinson — who was pinch hitting — each followed with singles to load the bases, but freshman pitcher Faith Meyer ended the game with a strikeout.
“We’re proud that they battled back and stayed in it the whole time. We kept putting runners on, but ultimately our pitching wasn’t quite there tonight,” LC coach Nikole Keil said. “And then we just couldn’t come back from the errors. PH got on the gas and stayed on the gas.”
Meyer allowed six runs — five earned — and 15 hits, but did not walk a batter and struck out four in the complete-game win.
The Lady Tigers also had multiple runners reach base in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth, Hammontree led off with a single before a Pinson sac-bunt moved her to second. Maddi Foster followed with a bunt single and Hope Atkinson smacked a two-RBI double to bring LC within 6-5.
But LC did not score again in the inning, as Meyer induced a groundout to Schwiebert, who made a good stop down the line, before an inning-ending bunt to Schwiebert, who threw to second baseman Haas, who was covering first base.
LC got its first two batters on base to start the fifth inning, but Meyer got the next three batters out with a groundout to shortstop, a liner back to herself in the circle and an inning-ending strikeout.
“A lot of times we were putting the ball in play, but hitting it right to people. We were doing everything we needed to do and that’s just the game of softball — they just weren’t falling for us,” Keil said.
Miller, who started for LC and reentered, allowed three runs and one hit with four walks and zero strikeouts in two innings. Fuller allowed six runs — four earned — and nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts in four innings of relief.
Behnfeldt finished 2 for 2 with a double, two walks and two RBI for PH. Scherdt singled twice with an RBI and Haas doubled and drew two walks.
Hammontree had a team-high three hits for LC, while Atkinson (2 RBI) and Krugh (1 RBI) each singled and doubled. Fuller singled twice with an RBI and Zeiter had a double.