Knightettes keep one step ahead of Jackson nine

FARMINGTON — They had the same percentage of wins to losses going into the game, and for the most part, the Farmington Knightettes and Jackson Lady Indians were evenly matched in their seven inning battle with the Knightettes taking winning honors by a score of 4-2.

Farmington held the hitting edge, 8-7, with both teams having two doubles and one unearned run. Farmington pitcher Erin Littrell struck out three  batters, and walked only one, while her counterpart Hannah Thompson struck out six but walked two.

Clutch hitting was the winning factor for the Knightettes. A spinning blooper off the bat of Allie Trask into short right center, made a right turn upon hitting the ground to evade the right fielder, and Trask scurried to second to lead off the first inning with a double.

Littrell drove a hard grounder past the shortstop, and pinch runner Whitney Holmes advanced to second on a passed ball to set up a two-run, two-out single by Taylor Benne.  

The Lady Indians cut the lead in half in the top of the second Katie Garner reached on Farmington’s only error, and a double by Thompson sent Garner to third where she would score on a ground ball by Jessica Jones.

The Lady Indians put the bat on the ball, but Littrell kept their hitting in check with her pitching, creating several fly balls that the defense handled rather easily. 

The Knightettes kept one step ahead of the Lady Indians in never relinquishing the lead. Littrell doubled to lead off the third inning, and two batters later Benne drove Holmes in from third with a ground ball for her third RBI.

Thompson singled for Jackson in the top of the fourth, and Chelsea Dye followed with an RBI double. The well would run dry from there on out for the Lady Indians as Farmington’s defense held firm, cutting down the lead runner in two of the last three frames.

Farmington’s last score came at the expense of Jackson’s defense in the sixth inning. Designated hitter Sonya Hahn reached on an error and Trask laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that found its way into right field on an errant throw to first.

Katie Currington made the Lady Indians pay for their mistakes with a single to score Hahn. A double play initiated by Jackson’s shortstop Megan Dockins on a line drive stopped any ideas the Knightettes had about starting a rally in the inning.

Littrell got two hitters to fly out to right fielder Rachel Porter to end the game.

Farmington (5-2) will travel to North County this afternoon for a game between the conference leaders.

Jackson  010 100 0 – 2  7  5

Farmington  201 001 x – 4  8  1

WP- Littrell 7i 2r 7h 3k 0bb

Hitting:

Jackson – Hannah Thompson 2-3, Megan Dockins 2-4, Katie Garner 1-3, Chelsea Dye, Brooke Whitledge. 2b- Thompson, Dye.

Farmington – Allie Trask 3-3, Erin Litrell 2-3, Katie Currington 2-4, Taylor Benne 1-3.  2b- Trask, Littrell.

Herculaneum 2, North County 1

HERCULANEUM — The North County Lady Raiders could not muster enough hitting in Monday’s 2-1 non-conference loss to the Herculaneum Lady Blackcats.

North County had only two hits in the game against Herky’s Stephanie Austin, one each by Brittani O’Connell and Dayna Spell.

The Lady Blackcats had the same problem against O’Connell’s pitching as she gave up only three hits and no earned runs, walking and striking out two batters each.

North County grabbed the early lead, scoring their lone run in the first inning, and the Lady Blackcats scored their two in the fourth with all three of the game’s runs unearned.

“Their (defense) was sloppy in the first inning, and we got sloppy in the fourth,” commented North County coach Steve Elam.

The Lady Raiders are now 2-2 and will host Farmington this afternoon at Brightwell Park in Desloge.