Villisca leads the way
MALVERN—The Villisca Blue Jays softball team rebounded Friday night to beat the East Mills Wolverines, 11-9.
Villisca was able to hold off a sixth inning rally by East Mills to get back in the win column, following their loss to Fremont-Mills the previous night.
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings of work. East Mills cut the score to 6-5, thanks to a four-run fourth inning.
Villisca scored two runs each in the fifth and sixth inning to build their lead again, only for East Mills to score another four runs to force the score to 10-9. The Blue Jays scored one more run in the seventh.
A couple of players had three-hit games for the Blue Jays. Jill Vanderhoof led the way by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. Allie Bronner was the other Blue Jay to get three hits in the game, as the freshman went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three runs batted in.
Amanda Focht and Sheri Schaf both had two hits in the game. Focht was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Schaaf was 2-for-5 with two RBI.
Abbey Wallingford got the win for Villisca as she pitched the complete game, giving up seven earned runs and striking out six batters.
On the East Mills side, they were led by Kendra Croghan and Jessika Lynn. Both players were 2-for-4 at the plate. Lynn had a double and scored two runs and Croghan had a triple and knocked in four runs. Kelsey Croghan and Amanda Hatcher also had two hit games for the Blue Jays.
Villisca had their five game winning streak snapped Thursday evening when they were knocked off by the Fremont-Mills Knights, 5-3.
The difference in the game was the seventh inning when the Knights scored two runs to take the lead. The Blue Jays trailed 1-0 after the first inning, but immediately took the lead in the next inning with a three-run rally. Fremont-Mills scored a run in the third and fifth inning to tie the game.
Schaaf and Casaundra Currin were the only Blue Jays to have multi-hit games. Schaaf was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in. Currin was 2-for-2 with a run scored and another run driven in. Kelsey Means, a designated runner, scored the other run for Villisca.
Vanderhoof pitched a complete game for Villisca, giving up three earned runs and striking out 11 batters.
The Blue Jays have a busy week starting Tuesday night when they're home to play Nishnabotna.
They'll be home again Wednesday as they play a triangular against Essex and Earlham. Earlham will be a challenge as they are the second ranked team in Class 1A for softball.
Thursday, they play Essex again, followed by another home game Friday against East Mills. Finally on Saturday, the Blue Jays will compete in the Griswold Tournament.