Last inning uprising leads Argos past Culver
CULVER — A fast start was great, but it was the explosive ending that ultimately helped Argos hold off, then pull away from Culver, 14-7, in high school girls softball Tuesday night.
“We pulled it out,” said Argos head coach Alyssa Thayer.
They did, but at first it looked like it was going to be a runaway.
After the Lady Dragons’ first three at bats, it was 7-zip. Carleigh Miller already had three hits and two RBIS at that point, Makena Lineberry two hits and an RBI from the No. 9 hole and the big blow was scoring four runs with two outs in the third, two coming on Allison Zahm’s triple to the fence.
“We tell them you don’t give up until they get that third out,” said Thayer, whose squad evens its record at 1-1 with the victory.
Zahm was cruising from the circle too, with two Ks and only one hit allowed after seeing the first seven Culver hitters.
In the bottom half of the third though, the Lady Cavaliers exploded for five runs to get back in it. Key hits were a two-run triple from Kaitlyn Kanschat and an RBI single from Abbi Kisela.
Argos scratched out another run in the top of the fourth, but Culver answered with two in the bottom of the fifth, making it 8-7 and it looked like a nail-biting ending was in store with just two innings left. It stayed that way after a scoreless sixth too, but then the Lady Dragons took all the drama away in
their final at bat.
Eight batters came to the plate before an out was recorded and 10 in all. When the third out was finally made, Argos had scored six times on four hits. Zahm smacked her second triple of the game to knock in one of the runs, Kadyn Baughman added a two-run double and Miller’s fourth hit of the game brought in her third RBI as well.
“We’ve talked about keeping our energy up and that we are staying positive throughout the whole game,” Thayer said of the huge last inning. “We know that teams are going to make runs, but we can also have one too. It was a good win; a lot of the girls stepped up.”
After scoring seven times in the middle three innings, Culver went down in order the last two frames. Zahm walked just two, allowed six hits and struck out six in the complete game win.
“(Zahm) has improved so much from her freshman year,” Thayer said of the junior pitcher. “She is a workhorse for us. She hits her spots and that’s what we ask of her. Hitting, we knew she could do that too (2-3, 3 RBIS, two triples). She just needs to have confidence in herself. I think she did a great job there as well. Carleigh Miller had a great game too (4-5, 3 RBIS, 2 runs). She’s one of our leaders and one of our
captains. We have a lot of girls that can play different positions and we like to move them around.”
Kanschat was the Lady Cavs’ leading hitter, finishing 2-for-4 (double, triple) with two RBIS.
Both teams are back on the diamond today as Culver travels to Kouts while Argos hosts No. 9 (Class 1A) Morgan Township.
• ARGOS 14, CULVER 7
At Culver
Argos 214 100 6 - 14 14 2
Culver 005 020 0 - 7 6 4
Allison Zahm (W) and Carleigh Miller; Kaleigh Fritch (L), AJ Hinds (4), Fritch (7) and Kaylee Hamilton.
2B: Kaitlyn Kanschat (C), Kadyn Baughman (A)
3B: Zahm 2 (A), Kanschat (C), Lilianna Mcmillen (A)
Records: Argos 1-1, Culver 0-1