By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Thursday night’s United Kansas Conference doubleheader between Shawnee Heights and Topeka West was decidedly one-sided, with Shawnee Heights.posting 18-3 and 10-0 run-rule victories at Hummer Sports Park.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Grace Proctor went 4 for 4 in Thursday's 18-3 first-game win over Topeka West and also picked up the pitching win. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN
Shawnee Heights junior Alaryce Adams (6) and junior Odessa Schmidt (1) celebrate after scoring runs in Thursday's doubleheader sweep over Topeka West. [Photo Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights had suffered a 9-5 conference loss to city rival Seaman on Tuesday, but the T-Birds put that loss behind them with a near-perfect set of games against Topeka West.
“It feels really good to bounce back from that,” Shawnee Heights coach Tara Griffith said of Tuesday's loss. “We talk a lot about bouncing back, whether it be scoring after (an opponent) scores or losing a game. We talked about bouncing back from the Seaman loss, and I think they did that well today.''
Defensively, Shawnee Heights gave up three total runs in the first game in the first three innings.
However, after giving up those three runs, the Thunderbirds didn’t look back and didn’t give up another run in either game.
“I thought our pitchers were both a lot sharper today than they were on Tuesday, not to take anything away from Seaman,” Griffith said. “But they came out and had a focus today. They did a good job of hitting their spots.”
Shawnee Heights sophomore Grace Proctor was in the circle for Game 1.
Although Proctor’s day wasn’t strenuous due to the run rule coming into effect in four innings, Proctor bounced back from giving up a few runs. In four innings of work, Proctor gave up three hits, struck out four batters and gave up one walk.
Proctor fared well at the plate in Game 1 as well, going 4 for 4 with two doubles and five RBI.
In addition to Proctor’s two doubles, the Thunderbirds combined for five more doubles. Alaryce Adams, Taylor Brees, Spencer Habig, Korin Gonzales and Dayana Miller each had a two-bagger.
In innings three and four in the opener, Shawnee Heights had 15 combined runs after having a total of three runs in the first two innings. The Thunderbird lineup batted around the order in the third and fourth innings.
“We wanted to focus on having just one zone,” Griffith said. “I told the girls to pick a zone that they wanted to focus on because the (Topeka West) pitchers did a good job of moving the ball around. I think picking a zone helped us focus today.”
Brees, Proctor and Adams knocked in 10 of the 18 total runs scored by Shawnee Heights in the first-game win.
In the second game, Adams pitched a shutout for the Thunderbirds.
In six innings of work, Adams struck out eight Chargers while allowing two hits and not surrendering a walk.
Adams trusted the defense behind her, with the Thunderbirds getting four flyouts, three groundouts and two lineouts.
Shawnee Heights drove in four runs in the third inning. Most of the runs in the inning came from a 3-run triple from junior Karlyn Bowman.
Bowman’s impact at the plate segued into the fourth inning when she smacked a single, bringing in a pair of runs, giving her five RBI already while helping Shawnee Heights lead 6-0 before the conclusion of the inning.
Instincts and smart baserunning would help the Thunderbirds tremendously in the fifth inning. While Shawnee Heights didn’t have a hit in the inning, three Topeka West errors helped the Thunderbirds add to their lead. Shawnee Heights would lead by nine runs going into the sixth inning.
Adams would drive in a runner that made it to the basepaths on an error giving Shawnee Heights a 10-run cushion in the top of the sixth.
Topeka West couldn’t keep the game alive, and Shawnee Heights would leave Hummer Sports Park with a UKC sweep.
“I think it’s important to just keep working,” Griffith said. “We never want to be satisfied, and we want to keep working. We always want to get better every day. So we are going to get back to work tomorrow and make sure we improve on things that we didn’t do so hot out here today.”
GAME ONE
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 18, TOPEKA WEST 3.
Shawnee Heights (2-1) 128 7 – 18 14 2
Topeka West (2-3) 210 0 – 3 3 0
W – Proctor. L – Alexander-Sims. 2B – Shawnee Heights: Proctor 2, Adams, Brees, Habig, Gonzales, Miller.
GAME TWO
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 10, TOPEKA WEST 0.
Shawnee Heights (3-1) 004 231 – 10 11 0
Topeka West (2-4) 000 000 – 0 2 5
W – Adams. L – Watkins. 2B – Shawnee Heights: Adams, Miller. Topeka West: Thurman. 3B – Shawnee Heights: Bowman.
