Portageville picks up second win against Kennett, 5-0

Portageville ace Taylor Tiffany. (Photo by Cody Tucker)

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Despite winning the Spring state championship last season, Kennett's high school softball team never found a way to top a powerful state-caliber team from Portageville. Little changed in Monday's season opener, which saw the Lady Bulldogs top the Lady Tribe 5-0 thanks to Taylor Tiffany's dominant pitching and Kelsi Miller's powerful swing.

Winning pitcher Tiffany struck out 12 Kennett batters, while Lady Tribe ace Madi Parr struck out eight. Each threw a complete game while allowing five hits, but a few hard hit balls upset Kennett's defense before Miller stepped in to put the game out of the Lady Tribe's reach.

Miller went 2 for 3 with two home runs and four RBI's. Portageville later added another unearned run while Kennett's offense struggled to get past second base.

The game remained scoreless through the first three innings, with both Parr and Tiffany proving why their among the top pitchers in the state. A base hit and an error in the fourth inning made way for Miller's first home run, a towering shot which sailed over the center field fence.

Kennett threatened when Sydney Patton and Hannah Criswell opened the next inning with base hits. With runners on first and second and no outs, Tiffany quickly worked out of the jam by putting away the next three batters. Patton led Kennett at the plate, finding her way on base in all three at bats with two singles and a walk.

Despite two promising offensive rallies, Kennett never made it past second base. Meanwhile, its defense began strong before stumbling late. Two hard hit grounders got past short stop Kayton Harris, while another error was counted against second baseman Morgan Taylor.

Portageville's defense was rock solid throughout the game, helping Tiffany finish with a complete game shut out. The Lady Bulldogs improve to 2-0 with wins over Kennett and North Pemiscot. Monday's win once again places Portageville as the team to beat as they look to defend their Bootheel Conference championship.

PORTAGEVILLE 5

KENNETT 0

KHS - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 3

PHS - 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 - 5 5 0

WP - Taylor Tiffany 12K 2 BB. LP Madi Parr 8K 0BB. 2B - Lovins. HR - Miller 2 RBI - Miller 4. Multiple hits: Portageville - Rone 2-3, Miller 2-3, Patton 2-2.