March 29, 2024

Panthers win by margins wide and close

Panthers clinch easy win at Clarinda, then battle to close out evening with two victories

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CLARINDA — Creston softball segued from an easy win to a fraught environment in game two and still pulled out a pair of victories Monday at Clarinda.

Game one of the doubleheader saw the Panthers carry over an 8-0 lead from the third inning of the matchup from Tuesday, May 29 and went on to win 12-2.

Kylee LaMasters finished off her five-inning compete game, striking out five and allowing four hits.

Saige Rice and Chloe Hagle posted identical stats of 2-for-4 as the former had four RBIs and the latter added two. Both helped to end the game early in the fifth as Hagle mashed a triple to plate two runs and and Rice’s single added the 12th.

Cayla Maitlen smacked two doubles and and an RBI. Sam Dunphy helped fill up the box score with a 1-3 game, a double and two RBIs.

Rice, Kiersten Latham, Brielle Baker and Heylee Shields each crossed home twice.

Panthers pull out game two

Creston’s two runs in the top of the ninth inning proved enough in a 11-10 win.

Runs scored on singles by LaMasters and Gracie Hagle gave the Panthers the needed tallies.

“It was a lot of excitement in their crowd and they hadn’t won a lot of games and it was good for our kids to play in that,” Creston coach Mike McCabe said.

“I was pleased with the way we battled hung with it and came back to win, he also added.

Creston got on the right side of the scoreboard with four runs in the first, another in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth before remaining scoreless until the ninth.

Maitlen and Gracie Hagle bashed consecutive hits, Hagle’s a triple, to plate two runs each for the lead in the first.

Hagle went 3-for-6 with three runs driven in while Maitlen went 2-5 with three RBIs.

Sam Dunphy also put up a 2-5 day with three more driven home.

“We got good production from the middle to bottom part (of the lineup). That happens sometimes with the lower part of your lineup doing the damage against someone who doesn’t have much velocity,” McCabe said.

Clarinda’s Azaiah Smalley walked 10 batters in the game, which aided the Panthers in the close call victory.

Clarinda tied the game with five runs in the third, but fell behind when Creston stacked on four runs over the course of the fourth and fifth.

Addie Shane smacked five singles in the loss for Clarinda.

The Cardinals pushed home three more runs in the seventh, with the assistance of two of Creston’s five errors, to push the game to extras.

LaMasters started the second game in the circle, but ran out of enough steam that McCabe brought in Gracie Hagle to pitch for three innings in which Hagle gave up only three runs in the seventh. LaMasters re-entered in the ninth, gave up a run on a Hallee Fine single, but left Fine stranded by retiring the next two Cardinal batters on flyouts and another on a groundout.

“She came back in and shut it down the last couple innings there for us She’s maturing, growing,” McCabe said about LaMasters.

Game one (Continued from 5/29)

Creston 12, Clarinda 2 (5)

R H E

Cl 000 02x— 2 4 3

Cr 080 13x— 12 11 2

Cl: Azaiah Smalley 0K 4BB and Hallee Fine. Cr: Kylee LaMasters 5K 3BB and Chloe Hagle W —LaMasters (4-9). L—Smalley. HR — none. 3B —Cr: Chloe Hagle 1. 2B — Cr: Cayla Maitlen 2, Rice 1, Sam Dunphy 1, Kiersten Latham 1. RBI — Cl: Addy Shane 2. Cr: Chloe Hagle 4, Rice 2, Dunphy 2, Maitlen 1, Gracie Hagle 1, Baker 1. Multiple hitters — Cr: Chloe Hagle 2, Rice 2, Maitlen 2, Gracie Hagle 2.

Game two

Creston 11, Clarinda 10

R H E

Cr 401 310 002— 11 13 5

Cl 005 010 301— 10 16 5

Cr: Kylee LaMasters 5K 1BB, Gracie Hagle (6) 2K 1BB 1HBP LaMasters (reentered in 9th) and Chloe Hagle. Cl: Aziah Smalley 2K 10BB W —LaMasters (5-9). L—Smalley. HR — none. 3B —Cr: Gracie Hagle 1. 2B — Cr: Saige Rice 1, Kylee LaMasters 1. Cl: Coryl Matheny 1, Bailey Drennen 1, Halle Fine 1. RBI — Cr: Sam Dunphy 3, Cayla Maitlen 3, Gracie Hagle 3, LaMasters 1. Cl: Fine 2, Matheny 1, Makayla Fichter 1, Drennen 1, Shane 1, Aliyah St. Romain 1. Multiple hitters — Cr: Gracie Hagle 3, Saige Rice 2, Maitlen 2, Dunphy 2. Cl: Shane 5, Fichter 2, Brett Samuelson 2, Drennen 2, Fine 2.