MEMPHIS, Mo. - Highland broke open a tie game with a 12-run third inning Monday night, powering its way to a 22-7 victory over Scotland County in five innings at the Lady Tiger Softball Complex. Keera Rothweiler drove in six runs for the Lady Cougars, while Maty Buford belted two home runs to lead the Lady Tigers.
The victory capped Highland’s regular season at 22-8. Scotland County moved to 8-14 after a contest that featured an early lead for the Lady Tigers before Highland’s offense put together two big innings. The Lady Cougars finished with 18 hits, including a home run and four doubles, and scored 20 of their 22 runs in the third and fifth innings.
Highland struck first with its aggressive baserunning. Rothweiler opened the game with a walk, stole second and third, and scored when Scotland County completed an out at first following a dropped third strike. MaKenna Musgrove limited the damage to one run, however, leaving two Highland runners aboard.
Scotland County answered in the bottom of the first. Elle Hamlin singled ahead of Buford, who launched a two-run home run over the center-field fence to give the Lady Tigers a 2-1 advantage. Highland pulled even in the second when Delilah Megee singled, advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Rothweiler’s RBI single.
The Lady Cougars took control in the third, combining seven hits with three Scotland County errors to turn the 2-2 tie into a 14-2 lead. Corinne Brinkley’s bunt helped bring home the go-ahead run, and Highland continued applying pressure with its speed and contact throughout the lineup. Rothweiler delivered the biggest swing of the rally, driving a three-run home run over the fence. Calyn Mathes added an RBI double as Highland kept the inning moving.
Scotland County responded with three runs in the bottom half. Hamlin and Musgrove singled, and Buford drew a walk as the Lady Tigers built another scoring opportunity. Bases-loaded walks to Elsie Small, Lexi Weber, and Allie Elenbas brought home runs, trimming Highland’s advantage to 14-5.
Buford supplied another highlight in the fourth, hitting her second home run of the night, a solo shot that made it 14-6. She finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk.
“That first one, oh, man, that went to the moon,” Scotland County coach Abi Haire said. “That felt good right at the beginning of the game just to keep us in it.”
Haire also pointed to progress in her team’s approach at the plate. Scotland County finished with eight hits and six walks, showing the patience she said the Lady Tigers had been emphasizing in practice.
“One thing we’ve been working on in practice also is just watching pitches,” Haire said. “If they’re not our pitch, just taking it, and I felt like we did a much better job of that tonight.”
Highland added eight runs in the fifth to extend its lead. Malia Thomas doubled to begin the inning, Rothweiler contributed a two-run double, and Hannah Ritterbusch followed with a two-run double of her own. Azriel Smith and Zeeva McReynolds added RBI singles during the rally.
Scotland County center fielder Ali Ward provided a defensive highlight in the inning, making a catch at the fence to deny Ali Lundberg a home run. The play resulted in a sacrifice fly, but Ward’s grab kept the ball in the park.
The Lady Tigers scored once more in the bottom of the fifth, with Hilary Hamm coming home and Brenan Douglas credited with an RBI. Highland then ended the game on a double play when second baseman Alayna Logsdon caught a fly ball and threw to catcher Emma Kaylor to retire a runner attempting to score.
Rothweiler finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, six RBIs, and four stolen bases. Highland coach Paul Scifres said afterward that the four steals appeared to move her past her own single-season school record of 52, bringing her total to 56.
Thomas went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, while Megee was 3-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Ritterbusch and Lundberg each collected two hits, and Mathes drove in two runs.
“We knew we were gonna have a lot of speed,” Scifres said. “I think we’re averaging more runs this year than we did last year.”
Brinkley was credited with the pitching victory after allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts in two innings. Mathes worked two-thirds of an inning before McReynolds finished the final 2? innings, allowing two runs on two hits.
For Scotland County, Hamlin and Musgrove joined Buford with two hits apiece. Weber and Douglas each added a hit. Musgrove started in the circle, with Olivia Dale and Elenbas providing relief.
Highland heads into the Class 2, District 5 tournament as the top seed. Scotland County has one regular-season game remaining at Novinger before opening Class 1, District 5 play as the fourth seed against fifth-seeded La Plata.
Photo courtesy for this story provided by Amy Buford
(This game recap is presented based upon the coverage of the Hometown Radio Sports Network. Any statistics given should be deemed as unofficial.)
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