Lady Tigers lose to Chillicothe, Fairfield

GREENFIELD — The McClain varsity softball team saw their overall record drop to 5-7 on the season after losing 20-13 to Chillicothe on Friday, followed by being shut out 10-0 on Saturday by Fairfield.

In the South Central Ohio League slugfest on Friday, the Lady Tigers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after one inning behind back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Liz Kegley and Payton Smith. Kaylee Stevenson and Chantel Landrum also had run-scoring singles in the same inning for McClain.

The opening inning saw the Lady Tigers send 11 batters to the plate and collect six hits, which included the two extra-base knocks. The Lady Cavaliers answered in the top of the second with four runs on just three hits, which was aided by one big error in the frame by McClain that allowed two unearned runs to score.

The Lady Tigers’ bats were still sizzling in the bottom of the third, plating four more runs, taking a 9-4 advantage only to see Chillicothe tie it up again in the top of the fifth. McClain looked like they might put the game away in the bottom of the fifth when they scored five more runs for a 13-9 lead.

Allison Beatty and Landrum had run-scoring singles in the frame, and Kenzie Anderson had an RBI double for the Lady Tigers. This time, it was the Lady Cavaliers whose bats exploded in the top of the sixth, collecting seven hits and scoring eight runs after sending 13 batters to plate and grabbing a 17-13 advantage.

The Lady Tigers went quietly in sixth and seventh innings, while Chillicothe added three more runs to seal the 20-13 SCOL victory.

“When you score 13 runs and have 15 hits, you should be walking out of here with a win, but we continue to struggle defensively where we’ve struggled all season,” McClain head coach Ed Bolender said. “We were up 5-0 after one inning and let them come back with four runs, then we go up 9-4 and let them tie it up. Then we’re ahead 13-9 after five, but then we just fell apart in those final two innings.”

[[In-content Ad]]


Offensively, the Lady Tigers played well enough to win, scoring 13 runs on 15 hits, but their defense was guilty of 11 miscues in the game, which was a big factor in the final score.

“Offensively, that was probably one of our better performances of the year but we have nothing to show from it,” Bolender said. “We just continue to give our opponents extra outs, and you’re not going to win games, especially in this league, doing that.

“I thought offensively, Kendall Pollard, Allison Beatty and Chantel Landrum all had big nights at the plate, and they’ve kind of done that for us all year.”

Batting leaders for McClain vs. Chillicothe were Pollard 2-or-3 (double, 2 RBIs), Beatty 2-for-4 (double, 3 RBIs), Stevenson 2-for-5 (double, RBI), Landrum 2-for-5 (3 RBIs), Brooklyn Rickman 3-for-4 (double), Smith 1-for-3 (double), Liz Kegley 1-for-4 (double, RBI) and Anderson 1-for-4 (double, 2 RBIs).

On Saturday, there was total domination by the visiting Fairfield Lady Lions, who won by a 10-0 score over McClain in the Highland County showdown.

Fairfield sophomore pitching sensation Kaiti White was outstanding, hurling a complete game two-hitter, allowing no runs with one walk while striking out 16 batters.

For the Lady Lions, they scored their first run in the top of the third inning, followed by a five-run fifth inning, a two-run sixth and adding another two runs in the seventh.

In all, the Lady Lions totaled 15 hits, holding the Lady Tigers to just two.

Leading FHS at the plate was White at 3-for-5 with one run and two RBIs and Kourtnie Smith at 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Both players each scored one run.

Carli Reiber was 2-for-3 with three runs, two walks and one RBI, while Emily Williams was 2-for-5 with one run. Also with two hits was Shania Setty at 2-for-4 with one RBI. Having one hit each were Sherry Heckathorn, Lauren Arnold and Allyson Davis.

“Kaiti threw the ball really well, and my girls hit the ball hard too,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “It was pretty much a group effort for us, and our girls got off the bus ready to swing the bat and that’s what they did.

“Greenfield made some outstanding defensive plays against us, so credit them too.”

For MHS, their two hits were off the bats of Stevenson and Rickman.

“Kaiti (White) is one of the best pitchers in this area and probably the state,” Bolender said. “Mark (Dettwiller) does a great job of coaching them, and they were a regional finals team last year and return everyone except one starter.

“I thought for the first four innings when the score was just (1-0) that we played some of our best softball, but then there was that fifth inning when we gave up five runs after committing a couple of costly errors that really hurt us. I’m still proud of my girls’ effort today.”

McClain travels to Miami Trace Monday night, then returns home Tuesday when they host Clinton-Massie.