Stellar pitching marks start of Lady Tiger softball season

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers bounced back from a season opening softball loss to Timberline to take two games from Wood River.

Timberline 1

Mtn. Home 0

(8 innings)

Mountain Home's Nickayla Skinner and Timberline's Erin Keen put on a pitching exhibition last Thursday afternoon in Mountain Home, with the visiting Lady Wolves pushing across a run in the eighth to win the non-conference contest 1-0.

Nickayla Skinner struck out 16, did not walk a batter and allowed just two hits, one of them an infield hit in the eighth that scored the only run of the game. Timberline's Erin Keen gave up four hits and struck out 14 and walked one, but the Lady Wolves threw out two Mountain Home base runners at the plate.

Krista Gillaspy led off the Mountain Home fourth with a triple, but was thrown out at home as Arlene Futch tried to bunt her home.

Mountain Home had a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but Ashley Christiansen was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Kelsey Hopkins' single.

In the top of the eighth, with the extra inning rule of starting with a base runner at second, Timberline managed to sacrifice the runner to third. Nickayla Skinner struck out the next batter to make two out, but Amy Smeckpepper, beat out a ground ball for an infield hit that scored their runner. Skinner then struck out the next batter to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Mountain Home was unable to lay downa bunt to move the runner at second over to third, after the lead-off batter struck out. With two out, Breann Christiansen walked, to put the potential winning run on base, but the Lady Tigers were retired without getting any runs across.

Mountain Home Lady Tiger softball coach Chris Asbury thought his girls played well for the first game of the season.

"A pitchers' duel for sure. Early in the season, the pitchers are always going to be ahead of the bats. We made a few mistakes executing. We had runners on in five innings I think, but couldn't move them around. We got thrown out twice at home being aggressive, but that's what you've got to do in these early games. They stepped up and made some big plays. Unfortunately, in extra innings we came up a little short."

Kelsie Hopkins had two hits for Mountain Home. Krista Gillaspy had a triple and Arlene Futch also had a hit for Mountain Home.

Mtn. Home. 3, 16

Wood River 2, 3

The Lady Tigers hosted Wood River for two games on Saturday, and came away with a sweep of the Lady Wolverines.

In the first game, Wood River got to Nickayla Skinner for two runs off four hits in the first inning. She allowed just four hits the rest of the way, while striking out 12 batters, but after leaving seven runners on base in the first six innings, the Lady Tigers went into their last at bat still trailing 2-0.

Tawni Downen led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and came home on a throwing error on Liz Griffeath's ground ball. Griffeath came home on Krista Gillaspy's double to tie the score at 2-2. Arlene Futch and Ashley Christiansen both walked to load the bases for Nickayla Skinner, who singled to left to bring home Gillaspy with the winning run.

Nickayla Skinner went the distance for the win, evening her record to 1-1. She struck out 12 batters and hit one. She also helped herself out at the plate, getting the game-winning RBI single.

Krista Gillaspy had an RBI double, Kelsey Hopkins had two hits including a double, and Tawni Downen had a double.

Charde Huntington started the second game for Mountain Home, and gave up two runs in the first inning -- just one of them earned -- and gave up another unearned run in the second, as Mountain Home trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the second.

Mountain Home got three hits in the inning -- two of them doubles -- but scored just one run.

Charde Huntington had an easy inning in the top of the third, and in the bottom of the third, Mountain Home sent 17 batters to the plate, getting 13 hits -- two of them home runs -- as they scored 13 runs to go up 14-3.

The Lady Tigers added two more runs in the fourth as they increased their lead to 16-3.

Nickayla Skinner shut down the Lady Wolverines in the top of the fifth, as Mountain Home got the win in five by the 10-run rule, 16-3.

"We left, I believe, eight runners in scoring position the first game, but clutch hitting in the second was the difference," said Coach Asbury after the game. "We just couldn't put together two or three hits together in the first game to shore it up earlier, and it took three games for us to get our bats going, but that's the team that I've coached for the last few years and I know we can hit.

"It was a good breakout game and now the confidence is there and we can roll through a couple of district games next week."

Mountain Home had 20 hits in the second game, and four girls had three hits. Nickayla Skinner had a single, double and a three-run home run. Charde Huntington had three hits including a double and three RBIs. Kelsie Hopkins continued her torrid start at the plate with two doubles and a homer and two RBIs. She has seven hits in her first 10 at bats.

Tawni Downen had three hits including two doubles and two RBIs. Arlene Futch had two hits and an RBI, and Krista Gillaspy also had two hits. Breann Christiansen knocked in two runs, Megan Kelly and Ashley Christiansen both had RBI-triples, and Tiffany Smith also had a hit.

Charde Huntington picked up the win, pitching four innings, giving up three runs, one earned, on three hits, striking out four, walking five and hitting one batter.

The Lady Tigers opened conference play at Nampa yesterday against the Lady Bulldogs, travel to Kuna tomorrow, and go to Minico Saturday for a non-conference doubleheader with the Lady Spartans.

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