Lady Eagles rout Bravettes; Kelly shuts out Dongola, 6-0

~NEW MADRID

Reeling Scott County Central proved to be no match for New Madrid County Central's softball team on Thursday, as the Lady Eagles cruised to an uncontested 15-0 victory in 2 1/2 innings.

"We took care of business," said NMCC coach Steve Rogers.

Abby Sexton picked up the win, allowing one hit and four walks with seven strikeouts.

At the plate, Ashley Brittain paced the Lady Eagles, batting 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored. Ashley Gantner was 2-for-2 with three runs scored.

NMCC also saw hits from Autumn Walker, Jenni Glenn, Sarah Fowler, and Maradale Myers.

Freshman Jackie Morrow was charged with the loss. Winston recorded Scott Central's only hit.

NMCC (9-1) will host Portageville today at 4 p.m.

"We're looking forward to that game," said Rogers. "We beat them 10-0 last year. I think they're having some problems right now, but I know they're going to get up for us. They've got a good softball tradition, and it is a big rivalry."

Scott City 8, East Prairie 7

SCOTT CITY - If there is such a thing as a positive loss, East Prairie got one on Thursday, falling to a strong Scott City squad, 8-7.

The Lady Eagles held a 7-4 lead heading into the fifth inning, before Scott City brought in staff ace Shana Wadlington to rally the Lady Rams to victory.

Wadlington shut East Prairie down, and Scott City managed to plate four runs for the win.

"It was a good game," said East Prairie coach Jerry Myrick. "We played well both defensively and offensively. It's a tough loss, but the girls have nothing to hang their heads about."

Coming on in relief of Amick, Wadlington faced 12 batters, recording eight strikeouts with no hits and two walks.

Meghan Massey pitched all seven innings for East Prairie. She faced 36 batters, allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits, three walks, and six strikeouts.

Offensively for East Prairie, LeAnne Hedges was 2-for-3 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored. Massey was 1-for-2 with a stolen base and an RBI. Jessie Wallace was 1-for-3 with a stolen base.

Amanda O'Brien was a highlight for Scott City's offense, hitting a home run.

East Prairie (4-3) will face Chaffee today at 6 p.m. in the Lady Devil Classic at Chaffee.

Kelly 6, Dongola 0

BENTON - Kelly's softball team picked up an impressive 6-0 win over traditionally strong Dongola on Thursday, improving to 7-1 on the year.

"I thought we hit the ball real well, and had really good pitching today," said Kelly coach Melanie Heuring. "Dongola is usually a tough team, and the spring season is their season for state. I knew they were going to be out to play today."

Natalie Lewer led the Lady Hawks to victory on the mound and at the plate. She pitched all seven innings, facing 25 batters, allowing one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Offensively, she was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

"I expected her to be our ace this year," said Heuring. "Being a junior, she has more experience. She's really coming on strong. She's not allowing many hits, and she's getting a lot of strikeouts. She did it all today."

Kelly also saw hits from Monica Senciboy, Andrea Kluesner, and Cara Menz.

For Dongola (4-5), Ritchey was charged with the loss and had the team's only hit.

Kelly (7-1) will host East Prairie on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Charleston 18, Puxico 1

Charleston 19, Puxico 3

PUXICO - Charleston's softball team pounded Puxico in both ends of a doubleheader Thursday, winning the first game 18-1, and the second 19-3.

The Lady Bluejays pounded out 32 hits in the two three-inning games, improving to .500 on the season.

"The girls have been playing very well the last three or four games," said Charleston coach Randy Allstun. "We've got some tough competition ahead, and I hope this will carry over into that."

In the first game, Sarah Duenne picked up the win. She allowed one hit and six walks with eight strikeouts.

Charleston had 18 hits as a team.

Drelle Mathis was 4-4, Duenne was 2-for-4 with a homer, Sarah Dugan was 3-for-3, Rikki Wallace was 2-for-3, and Beth Medlock was 2-for-3.

"We've been hitting the ball extremely well," said Allstun. "We don't give them the take sign - we want them to hit everything they can hit. Another good thing is we are cutting our errors way down. I don't think we had an error in either game today."

Dugan started the second game, and pitched the first 2 1/3 innings. She gave up three runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts. Duenne came in to face the final two batters and took them both down via strikeout.

Charleston had 14 hits in the second game. Marissa Helton was 3-for-4, Jamie Harper was 2-for-3, Duenne was 2-for-3, and Angie Starr was 1-for-2.

"Puxico has some good potential," said Allstun. "They're just a couple of years away from where they want to be. I enjoyed playing them."

Charleston (6-6) will face Oran today in the Lady Devil Classic at Chaffee at 4 p.m.

Bloomfield 11, Richland 3

Bloomfield 8, Richland 7

BLOOMFIELD - Richland's softball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday, losing two games to Bloomfield in a double header.

"We had four starters that had to attend another activity," explained Richland coach Clinton Twaddell. "I really thought we had a good chance of winning, but we just had too many errors."

In the first game, Bloomfield won 11-3.

Crystal Davis pitched all five innings for the Lady Rebels, allowing three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

At the plate, Chelsie Hill was 2-for-3 with a run, Candra Booker was 2-for-2 with a run, and Melissa Haynes was 1-for-2 with a run.

Bloomfield's Crystal Hill got the win.

The Lady Wildcats won the second game, 8-7.

Davis again pitched for Richland, giving up three hits and four walks with two strikeouts and two hit batters.

Hill was 2-for-3 with two runs, Ashley Kleffer was 2-for-3 with a run, Tessa Stafford was 2-for-3, Holley Wheeler was 2-for-3, Tara Hickle was 2-for-3, and Haynes was 1-for-3.

Again, Hitt picked up the win for Bloomfield.

"In the first game, we had a lot of errors," said Twaddell. "It was just lack of experience with players in positions they're not used to being in. The second loss was disappointing. We're going to have some really tough practices, and I expect the girls to bounce back."

Richland (4-5) will host Clarkton next Thursday at 4 p.m.