Both the Jefferson City and St. Elizabeth softball teams left Vogel Field on Thursday evening with things to work on, but the Lady Jays used their superior pitching and bats to power past the Lady Hornets 9-3.
After the game, both coaches said they wanted more out of their at-bats. Jefferson City (3-1) had two baserunners thrown out on the basepaths, couldn't cash in with the bases loaded on two occasions and stranded seven runners in scoring position.
"We've got to get better at base-running, situational hitting," Lady Jays coach Zac Miller said after the win. "A lot of that comes with experience, game experience, and we have some kids that are learning, working hard."
For St. Elizabeth (1-2), the improvement can be made in the players' aggressiveness and mentality at the plate, at least in the earlier innings.
"At the end of the game, I did," Lady Hornets coach Sheila Oligschlaeger said of whether she liked her team's approach. "At the beginning of the game, no, but they got aggressive at the end. If we would have played like that (from the beginning), it would have been a better game."
Pitching for the third time in three days, Avrey Reynolds went seven innings for Jefferson City, giving up seven hits and striking out seven while walking none. She has just one walk compared to 20 strikeouts in 28 innings this season.
She gave up an unearned run in the top of the third inning with two outs - a single by Tori Kemna, a passed ball and a single by Emily Wilde - and two more unearned runs in the top of the sixth, as St. Elizabeth loaded the bases on a one-out single to Lauren Otto and two errors before a two-run double by Ella Lucas.
"They are definitely playing more aggressive," Oligschlaeger said. " We're trying to be more aggressive, and trying to teach them to be more aggressive, and I do feel at moments they play very aggressive and have a great opportunity to go far, it's just a matter of keep doing that."
Otherwise, Reynolds was efficient in the circle and helped herself at the plate with two hits and three RBI.
"That's three days in a row for her, so it shows a lot of stamina and grit from her, and we're super excited about that," Miller said.
Wilde started the game for the Lady Hornets and threw four innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on four hits, five walks and two strikeouts. She also hit four batters, including Jefferson City first baseman Jessica Shanks in each of Shanks' first three plate appearances.
The Lady Jays' first three hitters, Addison Morgan, Kara Daly and Reynolds, combined to hit 5-for-9 with five RBI and four walks. Rheagen Nevins did her job of turning the lineup over from the 9-hole, hitting 1-for-2 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk.
"They're in the top of that order for a reason," Miller said. "We want them to hit the ball hard and drive in runs and do a job for us. That's all we ask of them and they did a pretty good job tonight."
Morgan started the game with a walk, and Daly followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Reynolds followed with a hard-hit ball into the hole scored as an error to drive in Morgan, and Lydia Hudson drove Daly in with a sac fly.
Jefferson City loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the second but hit the ball out of the infield just once, as Nevins scored on a Reynolds single and Morgan came home on a fielder's choice off the bat of Reece DeSimone.
The Lady Jays made it 6-0 in the bottom of the third after Shanks was hit and moved up on a wild pitch, and Ella Berendzen singled to put runners on the corners to start the inning. Nevins laid down a sacrifice bunt and after Shanks beat out the 1-3-2 relay home, St. Elizabeth tried to get Berendzen with a snap throw to second, but the ball went into center field and Berendzen scored easily.
After a scoreless fourth, Tasia Green came on to pitch for the Lady Hornets, allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out one. Nevins started the fifth with a single, moved up on an error by the catcher and scored on a single by Daly.
Daly came around from first on a double to right by Reynolds, and her courtesy runner Maddy Lux came in on an error by the second baseman.
Jefferson City won the JV game 10-6.
St. Elizabeth is back in action at 5 p.m. Tuesday at home against Jamestown. The Lady Jays play at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Fatima in Loose Creek.