The Park Hill South softball team erupted in the fourth inning, scoring seven runs, to take down its rival Park Hill 10-3 to give the Panthers their first home win of the season on Sept. 8.
Park Hill South’s Cara Sparks, above left, ended with one hit against Park Hill on Sept. 8.
It was a defensive contest early in the battle of the Park Hills when each team scored one run in the first inning and were scoreless in the following two. The fourth inning is when both teams got back on the board, starting with a pair of runs by the Trojans.
“I knew that if we give them enough times at the plate, they will come through,” Park Hill South head coach Josh Walker said. “They like to see a pitcher one time through and once they get the timing down, they are pretty good.”
After Park Hill sophomore Mackenzie Moretina had a double to get on base, senior Grace Woods hit a 2-run home run to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead. The Panthers responded with a monstrous inning, with seven hits and seven runs.
“It was good for us and the fact that we started with a single and a double set the tone. We had great base running too, which always helps,” Walker said.
A single from senior Hadley Uribe followed by an Erin Stewart double put Park Hill South in position to score two runs to tie Park Hill 3-3. Another run was scored after a Jolie McMinn hit and then Curstin Todd singled and stole second, forcing a Trojan error.
That sent McMinn across home plate, giving Park Hill South its first lead of the game. Panther senior Annabelle Winter grounded out to first, advancing another Panther to home plate to extend Park Hill South’s lead.
To top off the impressive fourth inning, Uribe had an RBI single to give the Panthers an 8-3 lead over the Trojans. The Panthers scored two more runs in the ensuing inning on an error by the Trojans and an RBI single from Todd.
The Park Hill South defense held Park Hill scoreless in the final two innings to come out on top, 10-3. Winter pitched for the Panthers and struck out two batters in seven innings.
“Our defense is pretty good, and we have done some pretty good things from the start of the season. Our fielding hasn’t made many errors all season and I’m proud of how they played tonight,” Walker said.
Park Hill South had 12 hits in the ball game, while Stewart had a game-high three hits and Winter ended with two RBIs. For Park Hill, Woods and Moretina each ended with two hits and Woods finished with two RBIs as well.