Big 2nd inning propels Post 21 junior softball to victory

An early three-run hole turned out to be no problem for the Burke County Post 21 American Legion Lady Fastpitch junior softball team on Wednesday, as a big second inning shifted the momentum back in the squad’s favor en route to a 9-4 victory over host Caldwell County Post 29 at Baird Park in Hudson.

With the win, Post 21 evened its record at 2-2 on the season after previously suffering a 10-8 home loss at the hands of Hickory Post 48 on Monday at Patton High School. No further details were available from that contest, which was the opening game of a doubleheader that was suspended in the third inning of the nightcap and will be completed when Post 21 visits Hickory on June 23.

“I preach to the girls to be confident,” Post 21 head coach Brad Buff said of Wednesday’s come-from-behind triumph. “I tell them our best hitter is whoever is at the plate, and I really have a lot of confidence in them. I told them three runs wasn’t gonna be enough for the other team.”

Caldwell scored those three runs in the bottom of the first, with Lily Williams plating Roxie Suttles with an RBI fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk to Madison Gragg forcing in Isabella Schaefer, and a fielding error off the bat of Mallory Eggers allowing Lilly Richey to cross the plate.

Post 21 responded with eight runs on nine hits in the top of the second. The visitors sent 12 batters to the plate in the process, and they tallied six consecutive hits to begin the inning.

Madelyn LeMaster doubled to left to start the frame and was replaced on the basepaths by courtesy runner Jaiden Bame, while Kayden Maines followed with a bloop single before Elaina Curnutte reached on an infield single to load the bases. Ady Moorefield then registered a two-run double before Emmalin Clark cleared the bases with a three-run home run to give Post 21 a 5-3 lead.

Bella Creegan kept things going with a single to right before being forced out at second on a groundball off the bat of Makenzie Powell. Then Finley Duvall and Jolann Buff notched back-to-back singles, the second of which scored a run, before a two-run single from Maines with two outs accounted for all of the runs in the inning.

Caldwell cut the deficit to 8-4 when a wild pitch brought in Suttles with two outs in the bottom of the second. However, Post 21 got that run back courtesy of an RBI double from Creegan in the third, ultimately winning by the same five-run margin.

“To win you’ve got to have everybody contribute,” said Brad Buff, who saw every player in his lineup reach base at least once. “That’s why I tell them that our best player is the one at the plate.”

In addition to her three-run blast, Clark also singled to center in the fifth, with the remaining hits for Post 21 coming on an infield single from Duvall in the first and a double from Jolann Buff in the fourth. Furthermore, Moorefield was the only player for Post 21 to score two runs.

Post 21 also got strong pitching from LeMaster, who tossed all five innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on two hits while striking out seven, issuing three walks, and hitting two batters.

“Madelyn was at softball camp all day at Gardner-Webb, and so was our catcher (Jolann Buff),” said Brad Buff. “You could tell both of them were really tired, but they fought through and played a really good game. Madelyn was strong in the circle as usual.”

Post 21 returns to action on Monday when it hosts a doubleheader against Shelby Post 82. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Patton High School.

Burke senior legion loses late lead

After three scoreless innings, the visiting Burke County Post 21 senior legion team scratched across a run in the top of the fourth before Caldwell County Post 29 rallied for a 5-2 win in the nightcap of Wednesday’s junior-senior legion doubleheader at Baird Park in Hudson.

With the loss, Post 21 is now 1-2 on the year.

“We battled, and I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Post 21 head coach Mike Hasson said. “We battled at the plate. … I don’t know of a girl that went to the plate that wasn’t effective. Even early in the game we took the pitcher to deep counts.”

Following two quick outs by Post 21 to start the top of the fourth, Alexis Maines singled to right and then Maria Medrano singled to left on the next pitch. Maddison Powell followed with an infield single to short, while Makenzie Powell drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run.

Caldwell countered with five runs on four hits — singles from Parker Boggs, Kennedy Crouch, Abby Bowman, and Lauren Yount — and an error in the bottom half of the frame after being held hitless by Post 21 pitcher Marleigh Carswell (4 K, 2 BB) through the first three innings. And while Post 21 got a run back on a one-out single from Ellie Shuping in the fifth that scored Kyndal Morrison after she had reached on a leadoff infield single and stole second, it was unable to pull any closer.

Medrano, Shuping, and Morrison each had two singles, with Shuping also stealing a base. Post 21 also received the aforementioned hits from Maines and Maddison Powell to go with back-to-back singles from Makenzie Powell and Jolann Buff with two outs in the opening inning.

“I’m pleased with our effort tonight,” said Hasson. “We haven’t had a lot of practice, but these girls come together, and they play hard. We’ve got a good squad here, and I’m just really pleased with their grit. We got a lot of two-out hitting tonight, two-strike hitting … so we’re never done.”

Up next for Post 21 is a home twin bill against Rutherford County Post 423, which is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (June 18) at Patton High School.