MAC softball falls at St. Louis after split with SW Tennessee

KIRKWOOD, Mo. – St. Louis closed out a doubleheader sweep of Mineral Area, and gained sole possession of first place in the Region 16 softball standings on Wednesday.

Cece Mora finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, and the Archers received hitless work from three relievers for a 5-2 triumph in game two.

Addison Brown had two RBI, including a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the second inning, and Tataum Peery provided an RBI single in the sixth for St. Louis (31-5, 8-0).

Mineral Area (25-12-2, 4-2) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Ki Bogan and Ainsley Burnett singled ahead of a two-RBI double by A’Kiayah Scales against starter Hadley Hughes.

But Aaralyn Ranck followed with three smooth innings and three strikeouts for the win. A double play in the fourth began a closing stretch of 11 straight Cardinals retired.

Consecutive one-out doubles by Paige Glasgow and Calista Stahlhut helped STLCC answer against Libby Mesch, and Mora made it 2-2 with an RBI single.

Mesch allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over four frames. Sarah Hoshaw obtained the last six outs with two hits against her.

Jaden Howard twirled two perfect innings for the the Archers before Ashlyn Miller pitched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh for the save.

Mineral Area shuffled its lineup without the availably of steady No. 2 hitter and right fielder Emily Hochstatter, who suffered an ankle fracture while sliding into a base last weekend.

The Potosi graduate announced planes for surgery on Friday, and will miss 5-6 weeks, meaning the remainder of the season.

The Cardinals are scheduled to recognize their sophomores while hosting Moberly on Saturday.

St. Louis 8, Mineral Area 0

KIRKWOOD, Mo. – Abby Bellamy and Paige Glasgow drilled back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning to solidify an 8-0 triumph for St. Louis in game one against Mineral Area on Wednesday.

Calista Stahlhut posted six strikeouts over five innings, and walked none in a four-hitter. Glasgow threw out two Cardinals at the plate from center field in the opening frame.

Bellamy circled the bases on a triple and error to lead off the home half, and was 3-for-3 overall.

Cece Mora ended 2-for-3 after a triple and run scored in the second.

The Archers bumped the margin to 6-0 with four hits in the third against Leanna Mitts, who walked and plunked consecutive batters with the bases loaded and surrendered eight hits in defeat.

Ainsley Burnett paced Mineral Area at 2-for-2. Kelsie Politte and Ava Spalding also singled.

SW Tennessee 7, Mineral Area 3

PARK HILLS – SW Tennessee generated 14 hits on Tuesday, including five doubles, and beat Mineral Area 7-3 in game one of a doubleheader.

Charlee Smith and Jordan Wilson ripped consecutive two-RBI doubles as the visiting Saluqis increased their lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning.

Wilson was 3-for-4 and Smith matched winning pitcher Gracie Sharp and Reagan Spears with two hits each. Haley Gambin contributed three singles to reaching base four times overall.

Mineral Area was held in check despite producing 12 hits against Sharp, who negated much of the potential damage with 13 strikeouts.

The Cardinals finally scored on three straight singles by Zoey Arnold, Natalie Shea and Kelsie Politte in the fourth, but an ensuing double play kept the margin at 6-1.

Arnold added a two-run single in the seventh to finish 3-for-4. Sophie Meyer, Ava Spalding and Shea provided two hits apiece while Ainslee Burnett and A’Kiayah Scales singled.

Libby Mesch took the loss after giving six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Sarah Hoshaw was greeted by a double from Tamyra Higgenbottom, then retired seven of the next 10 batters.

Mineral Area 8, SW Tennessee 4

PARK HILLS – Ki Bogan reached base four straight times, and went 2-for-4 with four RBI to help Mineral Area top SW Tennessee 8-4 in game two for a split later Tuesday.

Ella Mangels scored twice and matched Kameryn Tucker at 2-for-2 overall. Brianna Despain and Kaylee Cline added RBI hits during a three-run bottom of the sixth for the Cardinals.

Bogan tripled home Kelsie Politte during the first inning, and restored a 4-3 lead with a two-run single following a two-out error in the second.

Emma Mulholland pitched a complete game with two strikeouts and four runs surrendered on nine hits for the win. A ground ball to shortstop Gracie Wright stranded two Saluqis in the seventh.

Tucker added an RBI double in the fifth, and Politte finished 2-for-4 with a double for MAC.

Jasmine Roach tripled in the second inning, and Charlee Smith had a two-run single as both players were 3-for-4 to pace SW Tennessee (10-24).

NataLee Faulkner singled twice, and Hayley Cartwright allowed four runs – one earned – on five hits while lasting 2 2/3 innings in the loss. Reliever Blakelynn Pitts also yielded four runs.