The McDonald County High School softball team bounced back from its first loss of the season earlier in the week with an 8-0 win over Cassville on Sept. 13 at MCHS.
Alexa Hopkins earned the shutout by allowing just three hits in seven innings. The sophomore struck out six and never walked a batter.
The offense gave Hopkins the only runs she would need with a three-run first inning. Chloe Colvin tripled and scored on a double by Whitney Kinser for the game's first run. Kylie Helm singled in the second run of the inning before Kristin Cornell's single with two out drove in Helm.
Colvin singled and scored on an error in the third to stretch the lead to 4-0. In the fifth, Kinser doubled and scored on Helm's triple.
McDonald County scored three more runs in the sixth. Madeline McCall singled and Kaylee Cornell walked to start the rally. After Leslie Yousey bunted the runners to second and third, Rita Santillan drove in both with a single. Colvin drove in the final run of the inning with a groundout.
Kinser finished with three hits, while Colvin and Helm had two each. Santillan, McCall, Yousey, and Kristen and Kaylee Cornell had one each.
McDonald County improves to 6-1 entering its Sept. 17 game against Nixa at MCHS. The Lady Mustangs were at Lamar on Sept. 18 before returning home to face Nevada on Sept. 20. Game time is 4:30 p.m.
Seneca
Seneca scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overcome a McDonald County 2-1 lead in the Lady Indians 4-2 win on Sept. 11 in Seneca. The loss was the Lady Mustangs' first after opening the season with five consecutive wins.
McCall took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in six innings. She struck out five and walked one.
McDonald County took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a single by Colvin and an RBI triple by Kinser.
After Seneca tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a walk, an error and a single, McDonald County took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Santillan singled and stole second with two outs and scored on a single by Colvin.
But Seneca scored three runs in the sixth on five hits and an error to hand the Lady Mustangs their first defeat.
Seneca's Chelsea Beville held McDonald County to seven hits and struck out seven for the win.
Santillan and Colvin had two hits each, while Kinser, Hopkins and McCall all had one.
Nixa
McDonald County made short work of the Nixa Eagles on Sept. 17 at MCHS, scoring eight runs in the first inning on the way to a 15-1 win.
The Lady Mustangs took advantage of six walks in their big first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Madeline McCall.
McDonald County added two runs in the third and five in the fourth before the game was topped after four and a half innings due to the 10-run rule.
Alexa Hopkins had three hits and two RBIs to lead the offense. Kylie Helm had two hits and four RBIs, while McCall and Leslie Yousey also had two hits. Rita Santillan and Kaylee Cornell had the other two hits in the Lady Mustangs 11-hit attack.
Hopkins got the win, scattering eight hits over five innings, striking out one without issuing a walk.
Sports on 09/20/2018