Lady Tigers lose 4 more during busy week of softball

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers had some good efforts but ended up losing four more softball games last week.

Wood River 7, Mountain Home 6

Wood River scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to down Mountain Home, 7-6, April 20 at Wood River High School in Hailey during a non-conference game.

The game went back and forth with eight lead changes. The Lady Tigers scored twice in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 6, but the Lady Wolverines pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the inning for the win.

"What a tough loss," said Mountain Home Lady Tigers softball coach Ron Nicolosi after the game. "I'm very proud of how the girls pulled together in the seventh to score two runs to tie the game up. We saw some leadership before that seventh inning from some of the girls encouraging the others and the other girls responded.

"There wasn't much to say after the game; you could see it in their eyes," the coach added. "Everyone knew that we made some critical mistakes, both physical and also mentally, and it cost us. Although its still very frustrating, it's happening less and less. The girls have come a long way, but we know they are not satisfied. We'll keep working hard and pulling for each other."

Ryan Floyd had a double and two RBIs, McKenna Lewis had a double, Breanna Tindall had a hit and an RBI, Paris Mederios had a hit and Taylor Reed had a hit and scored three runs.

McKenna Lewis pitched the first five innings for Mountain Home, giving up six runs, four of them earned, while striking out four and walking four. Ryan Floyd finished the game and was the loser, giving up one unearned run.

Skyview 8, Mountain Home 5

A five-run third inning for the hosting Lady Hawks helped propel Skyview to an 8-5 conference win over the Lady Tigers on April 21 at Skyview.

The five-run third for Skyview broke open a scoreless game. Mountain Home got on the board in the fourth, added three in the fifth and another in the seventh, but the Lady Hawks score two more in the fourth, and one in the fifth for the win.

"We actually didn't play that bad," Coach Nicolosi said after the game. "Skyview just played a little better.

"What really surprised me was how well Skyview's defense played," the coach added. "We hit some good shots, and they came up big. Two double plays is a rarity in softball, but they pulled it off. That third inning was the back-breaker. They got five of their nine hits in that inning, and some of them were on great pitches. That triple that cleared the bases was a pitch around her chin and outside, she just put it inside the line in right field. What can you say about that? Tonight was just their night."

Ryan Floyd and McKenna Lewis both had two hits for the Lady Tigers. Floyd had an RBI. Taylor Reed, CJ Bish, Maeghan Pomerantz and Angie Shockey also had hits. Reed had two RBIs and scored two runs, Bish and Pomerantz both had doubles and RBIs. Lewis suffered the loss, pitching five innings and striking out six.

"Ashten hurt her elbow tonight and had to be removed from the game, so that's going to make us make some adjustments on defense in the lineup," Coach Nicolosi said.

Bishop Kelly 8, Mountain Home 1

The Lady Tigers came ready to play Thursday, battling Bishop Kelly tough before falling, 8-1, to the Lady Knights at Memmelaar Field in Mountain Home.

McKenna Lewis had a double for Mountain Home. CJ Bish, Taylor Reed, Breanna Tindall, Ryan Floyd and Paris Mederios also had hits for the Lady Tigers, who scored their run in the third. Lewis suffered the loss for Mountain Home, striking out six batters in six innings.

"I'm really proud of the girls today," Coach Nicolosi said. "Unfortunately, the score doesn't indicate how well our girls played. Defensively, we gave a strong performance and made the plays that should have been made. We looked confident and had lots of energy and maintained it throughout the game.

"Offensively, we could not get that timely hitting that we needed," the coach added. "However, I am very proud of the girls at the plate. We made some adjustments, and it showed in the way we hit the ball and in the low number of strikeouts we had. We've got them again tomorrow at their house, and I look forward to the same type of effort from our girls."

Bishop Kelly 20,

Mountain Home 5

(Five innings)

A 10-run fourth inning by Bishop Kelly broke open a close game as the Lady Tigers fell, 20-5, Friday in conference softball at Bishop Kelly.

Bishop Kelly jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two and led by five heading into the bottom of the fourth when they put up 10 runs on the board in the inning for the win.

Maeghan Pomerantz had two hits for Mountain Home and drove in two runs. Ryan Floyd had a solo homerun. Alexis Juarez had a double and drove in two runs, McKenna Lewis and Angie Shockey both had doubles, and Breanna Tindall and Paris Mederios also had hits. McKenna Lewis suffered the loss.

"I thought we started off well but got frustrated as the game continued," Coach Nicolosi said after the game. "I thought the umpire shrank his (strike) zone on McKenna as the game continued, and she got frustrated with it. Bishop Kelly took advantage by being patient and waiting for a good pitch.

The Lady Tigers close out their regular season schedule this week, hosting Middleton on Tuesday, traveling to Kuna on Thursday and hosting Kuna for senior night on Friday. The District III 4A Softball Tournament runs from May 4 to 7.