Welborn, a .561 hitter during the season, started things off by lacing a pitch over the shortstop’s head for a base hit. After a sacrifice bunt, followed by an intentional walk to McGuire, Davis ripped the first pitch she saw down the leftfield line. It hit just inside the foul line and Welborn was able to score easily from second base.
“We had some chances, but couldn’t string anything together,” said THS coach Crystal Tipton. “We just couldn’t get that timely hit, which is how you lose games like this.
“But I couldn’t ask for any more today,” Tipton added. “The girls battled their hearts out.”
The Lady Shoes had runners on base in every inning but the second and eighth. Three times they had runners in scoring position with just one out. But each time – the first, fourth and fifth innings – McGuire was able to retire the next two batters. T-Town was unable to ever get two runners on base the same at-bat.
McGuire ended up scattering five hits in her 104-pitch outing. She walked just one and struck out nine. After giving up a lead-off single to Kylie Borries in the seventh, McGuire retired the final six batters she faced.
Tipton allowed only six hits, while walking two and striking out five. She retired the first 10 batters before allowing a base runner in the fourth.
“I thought her movement was working well,” Coach Tipton said. “She worked the ball in and out and up and down. She attacked the strike zone, but since Marshall is such a good hitting team, she didn’t throw a lot of fastballs.”
T-Town’s junior pitcher has been battling an injured foot for a little more than a month.
“She got hit on the top of her foot,” the coach explained. “She still can’t land just right when she makes a pitch, but she’s just had to battle through the pain. She threw a good game today.”
The Lady Lions entered the game averaging nearly 10 runs and 12 hits a game. They had excellent scoring opportunities in both the fourth and fifth.
With one out in the fourth, Lauren English walked, McGuire singled and Davis reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. But Tipton got the next batters to ground into a force out at home and a flyball to center.
In the fifth, Marshall failed to score due to simply losing track of how many outs there were. With runners at second and third and only out, Welborn hit a deep fly ball to left, which would have easily scored the run. But both the coach and the runner thought there were two outs. As a result, the base runner was trotting home before the ball was caught, which resulted in a double play and ended the scoring threat.
Malea Helmink had two hits for the Lady Shoes, while Kera Hartke, Borries and Lauryn Shue each had one.
Teutopolis, which finished the season at 13-12, will lose only one senior from this team – Kayleigh Zerrusen.
“But that one senior is an incredible leader,” Tipton noted. “She’s a very positive person that means a lot to this team. Kayleigh will be difficult to replace.
“But we will have a good core returning, which is nice,” Tipton added. “Plus, we’ve got a good group of freshmen coming up. I’m excited where T-Town softball is headed.”
