SHELBYVILLE, Mo. - Clara Uhlmeyer was nearly untouchable in the circle Tuesday night, striking out 15 batters in five innings as North Shelby opened Lewis and Clark Conference play with a 10-0 victory over Knox County.
Uhlmeyer allowed just one hit and did not issue a walk as the Lady Raiders improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. North Shelby's offense backed its junior pitcher with 10 hits, scoring nine runs over the third and fourth innings to bring the mercy rule into effect after five. Knox County fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Lady Eagles had their best opportunity against Uhlmeyer immediately. Melayna Miller opened the game with a single and advanced to third following a North Shelby fielding error and a pitch that got away. With a runner at third and nobody out, Uhlmeyer responded by striking out Kodie Lay, Chloe Donahoo and Lillie Penn consecutively to keep Knox County off the scoreboard. It proved to be the only hit Uhlmeyer would surrender.
North Shelby was also held quiet early by Lay, who retired the Lady Raiders in order in the first inning. The home team finally broke through in the second after Alexis Browning singled and stole second before Emmalou Rife reached on an infield single. Browning eventually moved to third and caught the Knox County defense off guard when a throw went down to third. She broke for home and slid in safely to give North Shelby a 1-0 advantage.
The narrow lead held until the Lady Raiders' bats came alive in the third. Kinsley Hinshaw opened the inning with an infield single and stole second before Sadie Gander drew a walk. Uhlmeyer brought Hinshaw home on a sacrifice groundout, and Kalli Parrish followed with an RBI single to score Gander. Lauryn Thrasher then singled before Browning drove home Parrish with another base hit. Browning later scored on a wild pitch, completing a four-run inning that stretched North Shelby's advantage to 5-0.
The Lady Raiders put the game away with five more runs in the fourth. Mackenzie Wiedeman worked a leadoff walk and Hinshaw collected her second infield single of the night before Gander reached on a Knox County error to load the bases with nobody out. Uhlmeyer helped her own cause again, lifting a sacrifice fly to center to score Wiedeman. Parrish followed with her second RBI single of the game, Thrasher drove in another run with an infield single, and Browning added her third hit and second RBI. Thrasher eventually raced home during a dropped-third-strike play to push the lead to 10-0.
While North Shelby's offense found its rhythm, Uhlmeyer continued to overpower the Lady Eagles. After Miller's leadoff hit in the first, Knox County did not record another hit. Uhlmeyer struck out the side in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings and finished with 15 strikeouts among the 17 batters she faced. One Knox County batter reached safely on a dropped third strike in the second, with the following batter accounting for the lone conventional out recorded by the North Shelby defense on a groundout. Uhlmeyer finished the night allowing no runs, one hit and no walks over five innings.
North Shelby head coach Dan Uhlmeyer credited his pitcher's competitiveness and improved command for the dominant performance.
“She’s just a competitor. She wants the ball every time she can get it,” Uhlmeyer said. “She has improved so much with her command and her control. She’s just fierce, and she’s got good velocity to go with it.”
The North Shelby coach also pointed to his junior's ability to work different parts of the strike zone.
“Anytime you can go high and tight, low and away with a curve, come back, just find all corners of the zone, you keep them guessing,” Uhlmeyer said. “At that velocity, it’s hard to catch up with.”
The Lady Raiders' offense was led by Browning, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Parrish went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs, while Hinshaw finished 2-for-2 and scored twice. Thrasher also collected two hits and drove in a run, while Uhlmeyer drove in two runs without recording a hit, using a sacrifice groundout and sacrifice fly to help the Lady Raiders build their lead.
Lay took the loss for Knox County, allowing 10 runs, seven earned, on 10 hits over four innings. She walked two and struck out three. Miller's first-inning single accounted for the Lady Eagles' only hit as Knox County finished with just three baserunners against Uhlmeyer.
Despite the lopsided final margin, North Shelby's offense needed time to adjust to Lay after being held scoreless in the opening inning. Coach Uhlmeyer said some of that could be attributed to the excitement surrounding the Lady Raiders' first home and conference game.
“We were mentally very excited to be out here, first conference game, first home game,” he said. “I think we just overamped ourselves, and we had to calm ourselves, collect ourselves. That took two innings, but once we found it, we were ready to play.”
With the Lady Eagles needing at least one run in the fifth to extend the game, Uhlmeyer made sure there would be no comeback. She struck out Kaylee Dooley, Makennah Peavler and Jaiden Talbot consecutively to finish the one-hit shutout and secure North Shelby's conference-opening victory.
North Shelby will return to action Wednesday on the road against Highland. Knox County has Wednesday off before traveling to Canton on Thursday.
Photo courtesy for this story provided by Aiden Wilson with North Shelby Yearbook Staff
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
