By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Hayden and Rossville softball teams took turns with dominating games Monday on Senior Day at Hayden as the Wildcats and Bulldawgs battled to a non-league doubleheader split.
Hayden senior Alyssa Droge pitched a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the Wildcats' 8-1 first-game win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Keira Carswell celebrates her grand slam home run in Monday's 8-1 first-game win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden rolled to an 8-1 first-game victory behind senior pitcher Alyssa Droge's four-hitter and 10 strikeouts and sophomore catcher Keira Carswell's grand slam home run before Rossville junior Katie Spielman went the distance for an 8-0 shutout in the second game as sophomore Shyanne Haehn sparked the Bulldawg offense with three doubles, a single and three runs batted in.
Hayden is now 5-9 on the season and Rossville 11-3, with both teams winning three of their last four games.
Hayden was coming off a Centennial League sweep over Junction City and Wildcat coach Cody Reynolds thought his team could pull off a sweep Monday, particularly after the first-game win.
"I really thought we could come in here and win two games today, but I knew (Rossville) would be tough'' Reynolds said. "I was really, really happy to take that first game and I would have loved to take that second game but you can't win a ballgame if you don't score any runs.''
Monday was also a tale of two games for Rossville and coach John Nitsch was happy with how his Bulldawgs bounced back in the second game.
"Katie threw real well for us and we got some key hits when we needed it,'' Nitsch said. "We didn't get that the first game and it makes a little difference when you get the momentum going.
"They came out and took it to us the first game and we just didn't hit it very good the first game. You can't have that many strikeouts and expect to win games. You have to be able to put the ball in play and put the pressure on them a little bit to be able to make a defensive play. Hats off to their pitcher. She threw a heck of a game that first game.''
Rossville took advantage of a couple of Hayden mis-plays in the first inning of the opener to score its lone run but the rest of the game belonged to the Wildcats.
Droge helped herself in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1 and senior Maylee Burris stroked a run-scoring double and Droge a RBI single to put Hayden ahead to stay in the bottom of the third.
Carswell broke the game wide open in the fifth with her grand slam and the Wildcats added a final run in the sixth when Burris singled in junior Ava Delgado, who had doubled.
Droge went four for four in the opener, including her homer and a double. while Burris had three hits as the Wildcats pounded out 11 hits.
Like Droge in the first game, Rossville's Spielman was dominant in the circle in the second game while the Bulldawgs scored the only runs they would need in a three-run second.
Haehn, the No. 9 hitter in Rossville's batting order, drove in the game's first two runs with a double and then junior leadoff hitter Kinsey Perine followed with a second consecutive double to make it a 3-0 game.
The duo of Haehn and Perine struck again in the fifth when Haehn led off the inning with a double and Perine followed with a run-scoring single. Junior Emma Mitchell drove home Perine with a single later in the inning to put Rossville up 5-0.
Rossville took advantage of a Hayden error to push across two runs in the sixth and the Bulldawgs added their final run in the seventh on yet another double from Haehn.
"Two years in a row she's hit in the nine hole for me,'' Nitsch said. "We usually hit pretty good throughout the lineup and she's probably the best nine-hole hitter in the state to be honest with you,'' Nitsch said.
In between the first and second games Hayden honored its three seniors -- Burris, Droge and Tatum Abbey, who have all been key contributors for the Wildcats.
FIRST GAME
HAYDEN 8, ROSSVILLE 1
Rossville 100 000 0 -- 1 4 0
Hayden 102 041 x -- 8 11 1
Dyche, Hale (6) and Horton. Droge and Keira Carswell. W -- Droge. L -- Dyche. 2B -- Rossville: Horton. Hayden: Burris, Droge, Delgado..HR -- Hayden: Droge, Keira Carswell.
SECOND GAME
ROSSVILLE 8, HAYDEN 0
Rossville (11-3) 030 022 1 -- 8 13 0
Hayden (5-9) 000 000 0 -- 0 7 1
Spielman and Horton. Droge, Kylie Carswell (6) and Kiera Carswell. W -- Spielman. L -- Droge. 2B -- Rossville: Haehn 3, Perine.
