Lady Pioneers shut out in first conference series

March 3, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

NEVADA, Mo. – Crowley's Ridge competed in their first Continental Athletic Conference meeting of the young 2022 season and fell twice to the Cotty (Mo.) Cottey Comets. First dropping a 16-0 contest in five innings before falling 7-0 in the second game.

Game One

Crowley's Ridge – 0

Cottey – 17

A huge start from the Cottey Comets (9-6, 0-1 CAC) saw them up by six runs after the first inning of play. In the circle, Halea Wells (2-2) maintained her composure after a 3-run homer to get the next two Comets out and move to the dugouts.

Crowley's Ridge (4-5, 0-1 CAC) had Rachel Russell and Shelby Elrod start off well by earning singles, but neither were able to come in to score.

Maddie Reed came on in relief in the second inning, but bases on balls and errors kept the runs flowing until a Cottey Comet got greedy trying to stretch a single into a double. 

Elrod and Russell were joined by Dru Bryant in the hit club of game one that left the girls in green shaken, but undeterred after a 16-0 loss.

Game Two

Crowley's Ridge – 0 

Cottey – 7

Putting game one's big loss in the rearview mirror, April Kennedy led off the second game with a single to get the Crowley's Ridge (4-6, 0-2 CAC) offense sparked. Unfortunately for the girls in green, the hosting Comets (10-6, 2-0 CAC) turned an attempted hit-and-run into a flyout double play.

The Comets led off with the strangest of triples. A bunt single was followed by a stolen base, then a wild pitch set the Comets leadoff hitter up with a runner 60 feet away before. A sacrifice fly would score that lead runner before a two-run double put Cottey in the lead 3-0 after the first full inning.

Shelby Elrod (2-2), the lady in the circle for the Lady Pioneers, settled down in the next two innings, tossing scoreless second and third frames.

In the Lady Pioneer top of the third, a pair of outs on the basepaths doomed CRC. Lacey Lambright-Southern drew a one-out walk only to be erased when her pinch runner, Heather Conaway, was thrown out trying to swipe second. Kennedy shook out the out by lacing a double down the left-field line, then moved over to third on Dru Bryant's single. Bryant tried to keep the momentum going the Lady Pioneer way by stealing second but a good throw from the Cottey catcher caught Bryant stealing to end the inning with Kennedy stranded at third.

The Comets would add two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to compete the shutout sweep with a 7-0 game two victory. 

Kennedy connected on two of the Lady 'Neers four hits in the second game.

Up Next

The Lady Pioneers will continue northbound to visit the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (Mo.) Eutectics tomorrow, March 4 for a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m.