Stellar team play leads to season-opener victory for Lady Leopards over Lake Hamilton, 12-7

Minge, Watson lead defense from stout performances in the circle

PEARCY — The hometown Malvern Lady Leopards took care of business on the diamond Monday to take down the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves 12-7 in the seven inning bout to begin the 2023 softball season 1-0.

Despite losing a core of seniors last season, the Lady Leopards returned several ace playmakers and a dandy newcomers of freshmen to maintain another competitive edge to journey down the postseason path.

Veteran Malvern softball head coach Darryl Baker was pleased by the defense that his Lady Leopards showcased against Lake Hamilton. Baker knows there is always room for improvement but thought Monday’s victory leads to a good and productive start for his ladies of the diamond.

“Overall, I thought the defense went smoothly,” Baker said.

The Lady Leopards started out in the pitcher’s circle with Kendall Watson and finished up with senior ace pitcher Katelyn Minge.

Baker noted both pitchers were productive to provide some standout defense to lead the infield play against Lake Hamilton.

Baker looks to improve in other areas but the Lady Leopards executed well offensively in their five-run victory on the road.

Offensively, the Lady Leopards had a collective core of playmakers that sparked in the batter’s box to execute the offense. Watson along with Alexis Jenkins, Katelyn Minge, and Ashlyn “AJ” Fikes all had multiple hits. Bailee Bozeman, Reese Dedman, Elizabeth Briner, Takayla Stewart, Bella Roseberry and Chasney Cooper all connected at the plate to power the offense.

“I thought we executed pretty good and did a really good job with our hits—but we can’t give up seven runs,” Baker said. “This game was good experience for our ninth graders with losing a lot our seniors last year.”

UP NEXT

The Lady Leopards will continue more road play this week and are scheduled to face Mena, then travel to Nashville for a stanza of games against Stuttgart, Star City and a scrimmage match-up facing Nashville.