Kelly’s late rally not enough as Poplar Bluff defeats Hawks 12-8

Kelly's Leah Lambert swings at a pitch during a softball game against Poplar Bluff, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2020, at Thomas W. Kelly High School in Benton, Mo. (Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat)

BENTON — There was no easy out through the entire Poplar Bluff softball lineup for Kelly on Tuesday.

From top-to-bottom, not many Mule hitters got cheated and found their pitches to hit time and time again, as Poplar Bluff won 12-8.

“What I liked about today was we had a little more fight in us,” Kelly coach Melanie Heuring said. “We would come back every inning and score; it just wasn’t enough to get the win in the end. I did like the fight in the girls today, and I hope to see more of that.”

Tuesday was the second time in eight days that Kelly (13-8) played Poplar Bluff (13-11), leaving the Hawks with some sense of knowledge on their opponent. However, it didn’t start in their direction.

Taking advantage of its first trip to the plate, Poplar Bluff took the early lead after Audrey Lack doubled and eventually scored after junior Emilee Cheek hustled out of the box, not allowing Kelly to turn a double play, and earning an RBI groundout.

Responding in the bottom half of each frame was a common occurrence for Kelly through the first three innings.

Senior Kate Hughes led things off with a single during Kelly’s first trip to the plate, while sophomore Paiten Groves advanced her one base after a sacrifice bunt. An RBI base hit by senior Alaney Moore then drove in the leadoff hitter to tie the game before back-to-back fly outs ended the inning with only one run.

Retaking the lead in the top of the second, Poplar Bluff added one more to the total, to make it 2-1, before Kelly took its first lead of the contest.

Junior Elly Pattengil started the Kelly second by drawing a walk. Following a pair of stolen bases, Pattengill scored on a base hit by sophomore Leah Lambert to tie the game.

After evening the score, it didn’t take long for Lambert to give the Hawks their first lead.

Sophomore Carlee Ray pushed Lambert into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt, but the play didn’t stop there. After some aggressive baserunning, Lambert scored when the Mules had to throw the ball across the field to tag the lead runner.

The throw from the Mules’ first baseman went awry, though, allowing Lambert to score after what looked to be a simple sacrifice bunt.

One mistake didn’t define Poplar Bluff on this night, though, as the Mules continued to put the ball in play and hit the ball hard when they had the chance — something that coach Joel McDuffey preached.

“What we’re looking for is trying to find that groove pitch or our favorite pitch until we get two strikes,” McDuffey said. “We’re trying to smash what we can, and then once we get two strikes, we’re working to foul that thing off until we get one we enjoy. And, then, just put it in play as well as we can.

“If we can get the ball in play with a strong hit, I feel like we can get ourselves on base and get moving and start scoring some runs.”

Scoring in six of the seven innings, Poplar Bluff eventually pulled ahead in the fourth after Kelly took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third. From that frame on the Mules never looked back.

Sophomore Adrianna Casey started the fourth-inning Poplar Bluff rally with a single. After a groundout by junior Lauren Webb advanced Casey into scoring position, leadoff hitter Madelyn Hefner tied the game on a double.

Playing add-on from that point, Lack reached after a base hit of her own to put two runners on for Cheek.

The left-hander didn’t miss her shot to open the game in the guest’s favor, as her double drove in two more runs to make it a 6-4 game with only one out in the frame.

Poplar Bluff’s final run of the inning came after senior Audrey Rahlmann knocked-in Cheek on an RBI single to make it 7-4.

However, that wasn’t the last of the run support as the Mules added three more runs in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Lack highlighted the fifth inning after a one-out two-RBI triple gave the Mules a 9-4 lead.

Altogether, the Mules whacked 18 hits off Kelly pitchers, including five extra-base hits.

“Once we got comfortable, that’s when we start hitting,” McDuffey said. “This is a great hitting team. They see the ball well, and once they get comfortable in the box, they can start mashing the ball. We’ve bred that in ourselves throughout the season, and it’s paying off right here at the end.”

There were plenty of chances for Kelly to put the pressure on Poplar Bluff, but the one thing that has hurt the Hawks this season continued to be an issue.

Kelly hit 6-of-12 with runners in scoring position, an ongoing problem for Heuring’s bunch this season.

“We struggle with that,” Heuring said. “We’ve been leaving too many runners on base, so that’s something we’re constantly talking to the girls about and making sure they have that in their mind. We’re always practicing that too. Whether it’s bunting or hitting on the opposite side or doing something to move that runner.”

Multiple Hawks finished with quality nights at the plate.

Hughes went 3-for-5, while Groves went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases.

Moore also had a three-high game, going 3-for-5 with two stolen bases. Senior Kim Seabaugh went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while freshman Ava LeGrand went 2-for-4 with an RBI as well.

For Poplar Bluff, Hefner finished 2-for-5 with one double and one RBI, while Lack went 3-for-5 with one double, one triple, and two RBIs.

Cheek also had a two-hit evening for Poplar Bluff and added three RBIs. Junior Ella Zgaynor went 2-for-4 with one RBI, while Rahlmann added two RBIs.

Junior Morgan Courtney went 2-for-2 in three plate appearances with one walk, while Casey went 2-for-3 and Webb 2-for-5 with one RBI.

Kelly plays at Notre Dame on Thursday at 4 p.m.