SHELBINA, Mo. - Canton spent much of Thursday night keeping North Shelby within striking distance through strong pitching and several outstanding defensive plays. Clara Uhlmeyer never allowed the Lady Tigers to turn that opportunity into a rally.
Uhlmeyer struck out the first nine batters she faced and finished with 17 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout, leading North Shelby to a 5-0 victory in the nightcap of a Shelby County doubleheader at South Shelby High School. The Lady Raiders improved to 8-1, while Canton suffered its first loss and fell to 2-1.
The game was moved to South Shelby and played on a turf baseball infield adapted for softball. Humidity created damp conditions throughout the evening, but Uhlmeyer showed command of her movement from the opening pitch.
The junior struck out Chayse Uhlmeyer, Izzy Baker and Claire Whiston in succession to begin the game. She repeated the feat in both the second and third innings, retiring Canton's first nine batters entirely by strikeout.
North Shelby used aggressive baserunning to provide Uhlmeyer with a lead in the bottom of the first. Sadie Gander dropped a bunt along the third-base line, and the ball slowed almost immediately on the turf for a leadoff single. Gander stole second and advanced to third on a pitch that got away before Uhlmeyer drew a walk.
Uhlmeyer immediately rounded first and continued toward second, drawing the attention of Canton's defense. She was tagged out during the ensuing rundown, but Gander raced home before the play was completed to give North Shelby a 1-0 advantage.
Canton prevented the inning from growing when Liv Slater made the first of several impressive plays in center field. Lauryn Thrasher drove a ball into the outfield with two outs, but Slater charged forward and made a diving catch near the grass to end the inning.
Izzy Ruffcorn settled into the circle after the opening run and retired North Shelby in order during the second. The Lady Raiders added to their lead with another two-out opportunity in the third, when Uhlmeyer drove a pitch to the base of the right-center-field fence for a double.
Kalli Parrish followed with her second walk before Alexis Browning lined a single into right field, bringing Uhlmeyer home for a 2-0 lead. Browning attempted to advance to second while Parrish rounded third, but Chayse Uhlmeyer threw her out to end the inning and prevent another run from scoring.
Canton finally put a ball in play against Uhlmeyer in the fourth when Whiston grounded back to the circle. Uhlmeyer fielded it cleanly, and Mackenzie Wiedeman dug the throw out at first to complete the out.
North Shelby then produced another two-out rally in the bottom half. Taylin Prange singled through the middle, and Wiedeman followed with a base hit into center. Prange advanced to third and Wiedeman took second on the throw, placing two runners in scoring position for Emmalou Rife.
Rife remained patient as Ruffcorn worked around the strike zone and eventually drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing Prange home to stretch North Shelby's advantage to 3-0. Ruffcorn escaped further damage by inducing a ground ball from Gander and leaving two runners stranded.
Addie Baker broke up Uhlmeyer's perfect-game bid with two outs in the fifth, sending a single past first base and into right field. Browning quickly returned the ball to the infield and nearly threw Baker out at first, but the Canton senior reached safely for the Lady Tigers' first baserunner.
Uhlmeyer responded by striking out Peyton Spurgeon to end the inning. The right-hander continued rolling in the sixth, battling back from a 3-0 count to strike out Mariah Robertson before also retiring Carter Arnold and Chayse Uhlmeyer on strikes.
While Uhlmeyer controlled the game from the circle, Slater continued giving Canton a chance with her defense. The sophomore made multiple running and sliding catches in center field, including another difficult play on a drive from Uhlmeyer in the fifth.
North Shelby finally created separation in the bottom of the sixth. Thrasher opened the inning with an infield single and stole second before Prange drew a walk. Canton then moved Slater from center field into the circle, with Ruffcorn taking over in center.
Ada Jones entered to run for Prange, and a pitch that got away allowed both runners to advance. Slater struck out Wiedeman, but the third strike reached the backstop. Canton completed the out with a throw to first as Thrasher broke for home and scored, extending the lead to 4-0.
Rife followed with a single into center to bring Jones home with North Shelby's fifth run. An errant throw allowed Rife to attempt to advance from first to third, but Whiston recovered and delivered a strong throw across the diamond to retire her and end the inning.
Canton made one final push in the seventh when Izzy Baker drove a leadoff double into left field. Gracie Holloway entered as the courtesy runner, but Jones blocked several difficult pitches behind the plate to keep her at second.
Uhlmeyer induced a popout from Whiston and struck out Slater before Ruffcorn grounded to short. Gander fielded the ball and made the throw across the diamond to finish the shutout.
Uhlmeyer allowed two hits and did not issue a walk during her seven innings, throwing 73 of 104 pitches for strikes. She also contributed North Shelby's only extra-base hit with her third-inning double.
Ruffcorn took the loss despite keeping Canton competitive through the first five innings. She allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and five walks while striking out one in 5? innings. Slater recorded the final two outs and allowed one hit while striking out one.
North Shelby collected seven hits from seven different batters. Browning, Wiedeman and Rife each drove home a run, while Gander and Thrasher added stolen bases. Izzy Baker doubled and Addie Baker singled for Canton's two hits.
Canton head coach Kevin Jarvis praised his team's effort despite facing a level of pitching the Lady Tigers had not encountered during their first two games.
“Our team has a lot of fight in it,” Jarvis said. “Defensively and pitching, I thought we did a really good job. They played a little small ball on us and pushed across a couple runs that we maybe shouldn't have let get across, but for the most part we were solid defensively.”
North Shelby head coach Dan Uhlmeyer said the Lady Raiders wanted to test Canton with their aggressiveness on the bases. He also credited the work Clara Uhlmeyer and Jones have put into developing their pitcher-catcher combination.
“Clara came out throwing hard and throwing well,” Uhlmeyer said. “She's really worked hard to put herself in this place, and with Ada being a first-year catcher, she has really come along. It’s just a good combination working right now.”
Canton travels to Clopton on Friday before facing Highland and Silex next week. North Shelby will visit Cairo and Clark County before hosting the North Shelby Tournament.
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
