CHEROKEE — An inside the park home run off the bat of Crest’s Kayla Hermreck that was called off due to a runner not touching third base painted a picture for how the Lady Lancers competed at Southeast on Monday afternoon.
Crest dropped both of their games, even after showing early life by taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first in game two and knotting the game at 1-1 in the second inning of the opener. Ultimately, pitching and defense hurt the Lady Lancers most in 14-1 and 15-5 losses.
Game one
Southeast went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Crest then knotted the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning.
Liliana Blaufuss started in the circle for the Lady Lancers while Cursten Allen came on to pitch in relief in the third inning. The pitchers combined to serve up 14 runs to Southeast’s lineup through four innings.
“Pitching has been a struggle and we can’t seem to stay consistently on,” Crest head coach Kelly Ball said. “Batting is the same thing. One game we’re on and the next we’re not, even if it’s the same pitcher. They have to show up wanting to walk away successfully.”
The Lady Lancers lost 14-1.
Game two
Crest got on the board in the top of the first inning when Hermreck mashed a two-run double to left center to send Haylee Beckmon and McKenna Hammond across the plate for the initial 2-0 lead.
Southeast counted with six including a bases loaded walk, an Addi Hildebrandt three-run triple, a Kimberlynn Vineyard RBI groundout and a Kendyl Renn RBI groundout.
Crest trailed 6-1 heading to the second inning.
Southeast unloaded for two more runs in the second inning and one more run in the third for the 9-3 edge.
Andie Burnett drove home the next Crest run in the top of the third inning when she whacked an RBI double to left field to plate Hammond for the 9-3 ballgame. Then in the top of the fourth inning, Hammond singled home a run to make it an 11-4 game.
“That’s the type of stuff I’ve wanted to see all season,” Ball said. “We can coach them all we can but they’re the ones that have to adjust to the strike zone. We did that tonight and did what needed to be done in that inning.”
When Hermreck’s home run was called off later in the fourth inning, only one Crest run scored in the 15-5 loss.
