MEMPHIS, Mo. - North Shelby did not need a big offensive night to earn its 15th victory of the season. With Clara Uhlmeyer controlling the game from the circle, the Lady Raiders capitalized on walks, aggressive baserunning and Scotland County miscues to earn a 6-1 conference victory Thursday night.
Wet conditions forced the game from Scotland County’s softball field to the school’s baseball diamond, where the deeper outfield dimensions played a role in the night’s biggest hit. The unusual setting did little to disrupt Uhlmeyer, who struck out 16 Lady Tigers while allowing four hits, one walk and no earned runs across seven innings.
“She’s a battler. She wants it,” North Shelby coach Dan Uhlmeyer said. “She works really, really hard when nobody’s watching.”
That work has also required Ada Jones to grow behind the plate, particularly as Uhlmeyer has continued developing a rise ball that generated many of Thursday’s swings and misses. Coach Uhlmeyer credited his sophomore catcher for embracing the challenge and putting in the work needed to handle one of the area’s strongest pitchers.
“Ada really took to Clara’s rise ball, and she has worked her butt off to get to where she’s at,” he said.
The connection between the two was evident immediately. Uhlmeyer struck out Allie Elenbaas, Ali Ward and Elle Hamlin in succession during the first inning, with Jones helping her mix velocity and location while repeatedly working above the bats of Scotland County’s hitters. Uhlmeyer added two more strikeouts in the second before striking out the side again in the third.
Scotland County starter MaKenna Musgrove was nearly as effective through the opening two innings. After an error allowed Sadie Gander to reach in the first, the Lady Tigers turned an unconventional double play to erase the threat. Musgrove then retired North Shelby on three pitches in the second inning, getting three consecutive groundouts to keep the game scoreless.
North Shelby finally broke through without recording a hit in the top of the third. Emmalou Rife was hit by a pitch and used her speed to advance to third before Kinsley Hinshaw brought her home with a groundout, giving the Lady Raiders a 1-0 advantage.
The lead grew in the fourth after Alexis Browning drew a walk and stole second. Emelia Flores reached on a throwing error that allowed Browning to score, and Lauryn Thrasher followed with North Shelby’s first hit, an RBI single into the left-center gap that plated Flores for a 3-0 lead.
Scotland County answered in the bottom half. Elenbaas reached on an error before Hamlin drove a ball deep into the spacious center field. Elenbaas scored as Hamlin raced around to third, but Hamlin was ruled out after coming off the bag during the ensuing play. The Scotland County coaching staff argued that Hamlin had been pushed off the base, but the ruling stood and the Lady Tigers were limited to one run.
Scotland County coach Abi Haire felt the change in fields kept Hamlin’s drive inside the park.
“Elle Hamlin got robbed of a home run tonight because we’re on a baseball field,” Haire said.
The Lady Raiders added two runs in the fifth. Mackenzie Wiedeman walked before Sophia Luckett entered as a pinch runner and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Hinshaw singled and later crossed the plate on an RBI groundout by Uhlmeyer, stretching the margin to 5-1.
North Shelby manufactured its final run in the sixth when Browning walked, stole second and eventually scored on a passed ball. The Lady Raiders finished with only two hits, but drew three walks, had a batter hit by a pitch and stole six bases while taking advantage of three Scotland County errors.
Coach Uhlmeyer said his team still has room to improve at the plate despite finding ways to score.
“We’re putting people on, and then we are not getting the key base hit to get them on around,” he said. “That’s where we’ve struggled.”
Scotland County threatened in the bottom of the sixth when Ward and Maty Buford collected singles, but Uhlmeyer worked out of the inning without allowing a run. Allie Elenbaas entered the circle for Scotland County and retired North Shelby in order in the seventh.
Kenzington Miller singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Uhlmeyer struck out Lexi Weber and Hilary Hamm to close the game. Uhlmeyer threw 81 of her 111 pitches for strikes and improved North Shelby’s record to 15-2.
Musgrove took the loss after allowing two hits and five runs, three earned, across five innings. Elenbaas worked two hitless innings in relief and allowed one unearned run.
Despite the loss, Haire said the Lady Tigers have shown encouraging growth during a difficult stretch in which weather has limited their opportunities to practice.
“I feel we’ve been playing the best softball that we’ve been playing all year the past three games,” Haire said. “That is a tough team to go out there and beat.”
North Shelby will return to action Saturday at the Paris Tournament. Scotland County, now 6-7, is scheduled to face Highland and Macon in a Saturday cluster before traveling to Schuyler County on Tuesday.
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
