Thursday, March 28, 2024

Vienna High School Softball

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Cady Ross (#28) steps on home plate after her grand slam home run gave the softball Eagles an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning of Vienna’s win over Goreville.

April 29 vs. Elverado

The Vienna High School softball team picked up its fourth straight win last Monday with a 3-2 victory over Elverado, in a BDC contest at Vienna.  The Eagles’ season record now stands at 16-8.

Against the Falcons, Vienna broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Allie Penrod led off with a base hit to rightfield.  One batter later, Maranda Chance got an infield hit before Cady Ross tripled to right-center, driving in two runs.  Ross scored when the next batter, Carley Childress hit a hard ground ball off the pitcher’s glove, giving Vienna a 3-0 lead.  Elverado scored both of their runs in the top of the seventh.  They had the tying run on third before the final batter grounded out to end the game.

Emily VanAusdoll went the distance in the circle to improve her record to 11-2.

Top hitters for Vienna: Chance 2-3; Childress 2-3 (RBI); McKibben 2-3; Ross 2-3 (2 RBI).

 

April 23 vs. Hardin County

On Tuesday of last week, the Eagles lost to Hardin County in non-conference action at Vienna, by the score of 6-4.

The contest was a “Pink Out” game for cancer awareness, with all the proceeds going to Karli Cowsert, a member of the Lady Cougars softball team.

Hardin County tallied a run in their first at-bat and the score stayed 1-0 until Vienna tied it in the bottom of the second when Sarah Nelson led off with a single to left field, then scored on an RBI double by Emily VanAusdoll.  In the bottom of the fourth, a single by Nelson, a walk to Alice Ann Kotter, and a well executed squeeze bunt single by Maranda Chance put the Eagles ahead 2-1.

Hardin County answered with a four run fifth inning, then added another run in the sixth to take a 6-2 lead.  The Eagles rallied to get within 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh on another bunt single by Chance and a walk to Cady Ross. They both crossed the plate when Carley Childress hit a fly ball that the Lady Cougars’ rightfielder misplayed, but Vienna could get no closer.

Sarah Nelson pitched the complete game and took the loss.  Maranda Chance, Sarah Nelson, and Emily VanAusdoll each had two hits for the Eagles.

 

April 24 vs. Pope County

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Vienna’s Katie White slides safely into second for a stolen base during the second inning of the Eagles’ win over Goreville, in softball action last Thursday at Vienna.

On the next day, the Eagles returned to the win column with a 4-0 victory over visiting Pope County.

Vienna grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Alice Ann Kotter drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.  Emily VanAusdoll led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to center.  Pinch runner Kayler Hunt stole second, then scored on a base hit by Kotter, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

Vienna closed out the scoring with a pair of runs in the fifth inning.  Maranda Chance started things off with a double down the leftfield line. After Cady Ross grounded out, Carley Childress delivered an RBI single to left.  Sarah Nelson followed with a base hit, then Childress came in to score on a pop out to short rightfield by VanAusdoll.  Pope County threatened in the top of the seventh when they had two runners on and no outs, but the Eagles turned a ground ball into a double play, then the next batter flew out to left field ending the game.

Emily VanAusdoll went the distance in the circle to pick up the win.  Carley Childress had a hit and drove in a run, Alice Ann Kotter was 1-3 with two RBIs, and Katie White had two hits for the Eagles.

 

April 25 vs. Goreville

Last Thursday, the Eagles used a big fourth inning to defeat Goreville, 9-1, in a game played at Vienna.

Vienna plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Cassidy Stout led off with a bunt single.  She scored two batters later when Carley Childress was safe on an error, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Vienna broke the game open by scoring seven runs. Emily VanAusdoll tripled to right-center and Katie White got an infield hit before Alice Ann Kotter followed with an RBI single to rightfield. Courtney Sanders singled, then Stout again bunted her way on to load the bases. The next batter, Maranda Chance, reached on an error to bring in another run, making Vienna’s lead 3-0, with the bases still loaded. Cady Ross then cleared the bases with a grand slam home run over the left-centerfield fence.  A triple to center by Childress and a double by Sarah Nelson, who pitched the complete game victory, produced another run, putting the Eagles ahead 8-0.

Goreville got on the board in the top of the fifth on a triple by Kaylee Webb and an RBI groundout by Alexis Massey. Vienna closed out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the frame on consecutive singles by Chance, Ross and Childress to make the 9-1 final score.

The Lady Blackcats started to rally in the top of the sixth with two runners on and one out, but Vienna ended the threat when shortstop Childress fielded a ground ball, stepped on second, then threw the batter out at first to complete a double play.

Head coach Marc Palmer was pleased with the team’s play.  He said, “ We did everything we were supposed to do. We hit, we fielded, we played well.”  He also said, “Cady’s grand slam was big and Sarah Nelson pitched a very good game.” The Eagles had 12 hits and took advantage of six Goreville errors.

Top hitters for Vienna: Childress 3-4 (RBI); Kotter 2-4 (RBI); Stout 2-3; Ross 2-4 (4 RBI); White 2-4.

 

April 26 at Hamilton County

Vienna travelled to Hamilton County on the next day, where the Eagles notched a 16-4 win in five innings.

The Eagles scored four times in their first at bat before Hamilton County plated three runs in the bottom of the first.

Vienna scored six runs in the top of the second, then added another in the third to push its lead to 11-3.  The Lady Foxes made it 11-4 with a run in the bottom of the third, but that ended their scoring.

The Eagles tallied four more runs in the fourth inning, then closed out the scoring with a run in the fifth to make the final margin.

Emily VanAusdoll pitched the complete game and recorded six strikeouts.

Top hitters for Vienna: Chance 2-3 (3 RBI); Childress 3-4 (3 RBI); Ross 3-4 (2 RBI).