By Phil Aumiller
The Lady Lions softball team took their “A-game” to Eaton Tuesday and sleepwalked past Sheridan at home on Saturday. The week’s only disappointment was a rainout in Berthoud Thursday.
Lyons began Patriot League play Tuesday with what Coach Kyle Schuyler described as “a huge win” at Eaton. The little town north of Greeley is known for its strong athletic program, and Schuyler has always enjoyed beating them, especially on their home field.
In softball, a team can sometimes survive with little more than one good pitcher and a handful of timely hits, but this win was truly a team effort. Senior pitcher Rachel Bashor, and Dana Arling were the only two Lyons batters who didn’t get hits, mainly because they drew five of the team’s six walks. The other seven Lyons batters combined for twelve hits, including doubles from Sammi Bashor, Dakotah Chartier, and Brittany King. Catcher Madison Myers, showing admirable strength and courage after a recent family tragedy, knocked in four runs with three hits, and she scored twice. Brittany King, perhaps the smallest cleanup hitter in the league, swung a big stick and banged out three hits of her own.
Rachel Bashor returned to full strength after recovering from a thumb laceration and gritted her way through seven innings of pitching duty, giving up only one walk. Although Eaton hitters managed twelve hits of their own, they were scattered throughout the game and the Reds never erupted for more than two runs in a single inning. Conversely, Lyons jumped out to an early lead with six unanswered runs in the first two innings, followed by a five run outburst in the fifth, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Lady Lions took the long happy bus ride home with an 11-6 victory to their credit.
R H E
Lyons 2 4 0 0 5 0 0 11 12 2
Eaton 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 6 12 1
Lyons Batting: S. Bashor 4 2 1 1, M. Myers 5 2 3 4, D. Chartier 4 1 2 0 , B. King 5 1 3 2 , M. Wallace 4 0 1 1, D. Arling 2 1 0 0, R. Bashor 0 2 0 0 , H. Theriault 2 1 1 0, S. Bailey-Peterson 4 1 1 0
2B: S.Bashor, D.Chartier, B.King
Lyons Pitching: R. Bashor W 7IP 12H 6R 5ER 3K 1BB
The Lady Lions opened their home season Saturday against Sheridan High School. Last year’s contest between the two teams was a tedious sequence of walks and wild pitches that led to a blowout victory for Lyons. It happened again this year, as Lyons rolled to a 17-2 win. Sheridan actually scored first, on a 3-base error. Their lead was short-lived, though, as Lyons sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Madeline Wallace and Kimy Harrison provided the only two hits in the inning and everybody else walked. In the bottom of the second, Wallace led off with a triple over the left fielder’s head. A bunch of walks followed, and then Dakotah Chartier nailed a double to left-center and Brittany King (the ninth batter of the inning) crushed a triple to center. Coach Schuyler, seeing no need to run up the score further, had King step off the base to give up the third out.
This allowed Madeline Wallace to lead off the third inning with a double. Hayley Theriault added another double and Sammi Bashor hit a single in the inning, as Lyons tacked on three more runs. Sheridan scored their second run of the game in the top of the fourth on two infield hits. The game ended by mercy rule in the middle of the fourth.
The Sheridan team is still learning, and their girls seemed to have fun despite the score. After the game, some of the Lyons Moms hosted a chili lunch for both teams, and any remaining competitive angst dissolved. Lyons assistant Coach Chelsea Hammons even hosted an informal pitching clinic for the Sheridan pitchers after the chili had been consumed. The Saturday lunch idea is becoming a tradition in Colorado 3A softball, and it sure is a nice alternative to the more traditional bench-clearing brawl one often sees in major league baseball games.
R H E
Sheridan 1 0 0 1 2 4 2
Lyons 8 6 3 - 17 8 2
Lyons Batting: S. Bashor 3 0 1 0, M. Myers 2 2 0 1, D. Chartier 1 2 1 0, H. Wallace 0 0 0 0, B. King 2 1 1 1, M. Wallace 3 3 3 1, D. Arling 0 3 0 0, R. Bashor 0 3 0 0, H. Theriault 1 2 1 1, K. Harrison 2 1 1 2, S. Bailey-Peterson 1 0 0 0.
2B: D. Chartier, K. Harrison, H. Theriault, M. Wallace 3B: B. King, M. Wallace.
Lyons Pitching: R. Bashor W 4IP 2R 1ER 4H 4K 1BB
The team’s record now stands at 6 and 4 (1 and 0 in league). They play every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from here on out.
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