The No. 11 Hinton softball team scored big late to prevail over Gehlen Catholic by the score of 6-1 on Wednesday night in Hinton.
While the Blackhawks were waiting for those big innings to come, Kayla Sypersma was just doing her thing in the circle. She pitched to the tune of just three hits and one unearned run allowed in seven complete innings all coming on just 66 pitches. Hinton head coach Jennifer Jacobs-List says having quick innings with good defense led to the great outing.
In Hinton’s first six games last week, they committed a total of 21 errors in the field. That total came down to just one error in the victory over the Jays, and Coach Jacobs-List veteran presence helped get them on the right track.
The Blackhawks could not muster much at the plate due in large part to some nice pitching from Kennedy Paulson for Gehlen Catholic. She got through the first two innings without a blemish, and the only baserunner that reached in the third inning scored for Hinton. Gehlen Catholic head coach Tony Kerkvliet says Paulson was in command of her pitches.
The two runs Hinton did get across in the third and fourth innings proved that they can play some situational softball to work runs across. Coach Jacobs-List says that becomes so vital if you do not always have the option for power.
The sixth inning is when things blew open for the Blackhawks at the plate as they scored four quick runs with the first five that came to the plate reaching base in the inning. Ava Lang and Becca Lahrs out of the seven and eight spots in the lineup came up with the big run-producing hits with each driving in two apiece. Coach Jacobs-List says confidence from the bottom of the order is important for a team’s success.
The Jays picked up their second loss in a row with the matchup and now sit at 3-2 overall. Gehlen Catholic was not as sharp defensively as they would have like, and Coach Kerkvliet knows that will have to change before a matchup with Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Friday and the CYO Tournament on Saturday.
Hinton will have their own challenges coming up as well heading into a tough Newell-Fonda tournament on Saturday. Coach Jacobs-List says fundamentals will be key going up against great competition.
The Blackhawks improved to 5-2 with the win. They are next in action on Friday at Trinity Christian.
