YATES CENTER — An undermanned Yates Center High softball team came up short on the scoreboard Monday, but nevertheless kept the fans on the edges of their seats until the final pitch.
The Wildcats staged late rallies in both games of their doubleheader with visiting St. Paul, but with two of their best young hitters unavailable, Yates Center was unable to put the finishing touches on a victory in either game, falling 8-7 and 6-5.
The Wildcats came within an eyelash of tying both games in the latter stages
Yates Center left the bases loaded in the fifth inning and runners on first and third in the sixth of Game 1, and then saw the potential tying run thrown out trying to steal in the seventh inning of Game 2.
“We are a very young team, with a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” Yates Center head coach Alexa Estes said. “Our bats are good, but we hit a lot right to them. Their defense is really good.”
Jaycie Randall walked and scored to start Yates Center’s offense in the opener, before Kamdyn Trahan provided the Wildcats’ second run by singling and scoring in the bottom of the fourth.
The fun really started when Lauren McConaghie smashed a solo home run to start Yates Center’s half of the fifth inning to pull the Wildcats to within 8-3. Kinley Morrison and Avery Eakin followed her blast with singles, and both came around to score on an error, to make it 8-5.
Then, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, McConaghie reached on an error, and Morrison doubled to make it 8-6. Morrison then came in to score on error, making it a one-run game.
But with runners on the corners, Trahan’s shot up the middle was speared by a St. Paul infielder, who threw to first and beat her by an eyelash to end the threat.
Morrison handled the pitching, striking out 13 over seven innings.
McConaghie had a home run, while Morrison went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs. Eakin, Trahan, Wylee Shaffer and Randall had a single,
THE WILDCATS took full advantage of assorted St. Paul miscues in the nightcap. Randall walked and scored in the first inning, and then after Lauren Schultz walked in the third, Randall reached on an Indian error. Both came in to score to push Yates Center ahead, 3-2.
The Indians tied the score in the top of the fourth, 3-3, but Yates Center responded promptly in the bottom half, after Peyton Petit and Schultz singled with one out. Petit came in to score on a passed ball, pushing the Wildcats back ahead, 4-3.
St. Paul wouldn’t be denied, scratching across single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to lead, 6-4.
Morrison gave the home fans one last hurrah when she singled with one out in the seventh. She moved up on a ground ball and alertly raced to third when she realized St. Paul wasn’t covering the bag. As the Indian infielders realized what was occurring, a throw to try to get Morrison at third instead bounced away, allowing her to scamper across with Yates Center’s fifth run.
