Sikeston softball routs Lady Eagles

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- For at least one game the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders.

Backed by a near perfect performance from starting pitcher Madison Smith, Sikeston combined flawless defense with a 14-hit effort Wednesday to down the East Prairie Lady Eagles 15-0 in four innings on the mercy-rule.

Sikeston's Myca Martin dives safely back into third base on an infield hit as East Prairie third baseman Makaela Hutson tries to apply a late tag Wednesday at the Sikeston Sports Complex. (Brent Shipman photo)

Sikeston's Myca Martin dives safely back into third base on an infield hit as East Prairie third baseman Makaela Hutson tries to apply a late tag Wednesday at the Sikeston Sports Complex. (Brent Shipman photo)

"It's good to get a win," Sikeston head coach Eric Voorhees said. "Today we come out and play well and we've seen that in spurts. We saw it against Kelly (earlier this season). We kind of fell apart at the end of that game, but we're playing better.

"We've seen it in practice and we've seen it in spurts during games. Now we're starting to see the results on the field."

With Smith holding the Lady Eagles' offense at bay, the Lady Bulldogs added to their lead each of the four times they stepped to the plate.

Rallies of one and two runs in the first two innings respectively gave Sikeston a strong advantage, but it was their eight-run outburst in the third frame that put East Prairie on the ropes.

Errors by the Lady Eagles drove in the first two runs of the rally before hits from Lexi Lambert and Annie Ramey drove in another three runs. One final East Prairie miscue capped the rally with two more Lady Bulldogs coming home to score to make it 11-0.

"We've been working a lot on our offense," Ramey said. "I'm glad to see we're getting it going."

It was Ramey providing Sikeston with the highlight of the contest. After hits from Madeline Witt, Lambert and Paige Rainwater loaded the bases, Ramey came to the plate with no outs and a chance to end the game early.

Connecting with an East Prairie offering, Ramey sent a shot over the centerfielder's head and back to the fence. All three runners easily scored with Ramey being waved home from second.

Before the Lady Eagles could relay the ball home Ramey crossed the plate uncontested for an inside-the-park, walk-off grand slam.

"I knew as soon as she rounded second she was coming home," Voorhees said of the play. "That's one of those games where you can take a chance with her to have a walk off grand slam in the bottom of the fourth."

Added Ramey, "I was just trying to make contact and whatever happened, happened. I was just running my hardest."

Ramey finished the contest as one of two Lady Bulldogs to collect three hits on the contest. The senior finished the game 3 for 4 with five RBIs and two runs scored.

Batting down in the eighth spot, Lambert was 3 for 3 at the plate with a pair of doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored.

Though she didn't start the season on the varsity squad, Voorhees said the freshman's quickly making up for lost time.

"This is her third game (playing varsity)," Voorhees said of Lambert. "She didn't start the season, but she's shown some things in practice where I got excited. I thought we'd give her a shot.

"Even against top level pitchers like Taylor Tiffany from Portageville she's getting in good at bats and it's nice to see the results."

Other contributors at the plate Wednesday included Witt, Natalie Regenold and Rainwater, who collected two hits.

Inside the circle it was Smith falling just short of a perfect game against the Lady Eagles. The junior pitched all four innings and retired the first 11 batters she saw.

It was with two outs in the top of the fourth inning when Smith's bid for a perfect game was broken up when Makaela Hutson sent a ground ball up the middle for a single.

Composing herself, Smith got one final fly out from the Lady Eagles' cleanup hitter to end the threat and Sikeston's offense closed out the game soon after. Smith finished the game allowing one hit and no walks in four innings while striking out two.

"There's a lot of pitchers in the area who aren't asked to do what she does," Voorhees said of Smith. "We aren't exactly deep and she throws six or seven innings every single game. She's started every game for us and is a workhorse for us. We're very proud of her and particularly her effort today."

Now at 3-12 the Lady Bulldogs will look to keep things rolling when they host the Twin River Lady Royals today at 4:30 p.m.

East Prairie 000 0 - 0

Sikeston 128 4 - 15

WP -- Madison Smith. LP -- Caitlynn Harwell. Multiple hitters: (S) Annie Ramey 3-4, Natalie Regenold 2-3, Madeline Witt 2-3, Lexi Lambert 3-3, Paige Rainwater 2-3. 2B -- (S) Maggie Shepherd, Lambert 2. HR -- (S) Ramey.