LadyKats let the bats do the talking

Kennedale softball has been known for its pitchers but this year?s version of the Kats is more than just an arm or two – it is also a team of hitters. District play started two weeks ago and Kennedale (13-1, 4-0) has had three shut outs in four game while establishing themselves as the district leader going into the second half of district play at 4-0. They have outhit their opponents in that four game stretch 48-5. {{more}}

?the Wildcats? top three hitters and best pitcher have staked them to 13-1 start and 4-0 record in District 7-4A. Jazlyn Crowder is the team leader in batting average with a scorching .658, and Allie Turner is hitting .559. Both have been impressive during district play, hitting .818 and .700, respectively. Turner has also been the team?s best pitcher with a 1.58 ERA, and 0.88 in district.? Read

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March 24, Diamond Hill 19-0 (Win)

After polishing off Alvarado 10-0 in the opening game of District 7-4A a few days earlier, Kennedale defeated FtW Diamond Hill in the first inning of play.

While the game had to be played out in at least 3 innings, the Kats really put it away with the first four batters. Hitting in the number 1 position, Allie Turner on a 1-1 count hit a triple. Mary Grace Howard followed right behind on a 0-2 count with a double, scoring Turner. Next up, Elizabeth Schiele (2-1 count), hits a triple, scoring Howard. Number four batter, Jazlyn Crowder, clears the fence and just like that it was four batters, four hits and four runs.

The rest of the inning was the small stuff that added up big with 6 singles (Alexa Niefert 2, Turner, Rebekah Abair and Ashley McElvaney) and one more double (Jamie Franks). Mixed in were 3 walks, 3 errors and 1 hit batter. By the time a Diamond Hill player took their first swing it was 15-0.

Kennedale?s Alexa Neifert threw a no-hitter. Facing only 10 batters she struck out five, walked one and of the 36 pitches she threw, 27 were strikes.

Eleven Kennedale players got hits. Besides the double by Franks, Howard had two. Adding to the triples by Turner and Schiele was one by Valerie Velazuquez.

March 27, Godley 5-3, (W)

The LadyKats travelled to Godley to take on the Lady Wildcats last Friday in what turned out to be one of their closes games of the season, holding off a Godley rally in the final inning to take the win.

Godley, 2-1 in district play, did keep the hits down but Kennedale managed 5 runs on 7 hits. For Kennedale it was three errors that help give the Godley team a chance.

Big for Kennedale was Jazlyn Crowder who hit three triples and recorded 4 RBI?s. Allie Turner got the win for Kennedale. She pitched seven innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits. She threw 99 pitches with 62 strikes after facing 31 batters.

Kennedale got the early lead with a two run triple by Crowder, scoring Turner (walk) and Mary Grace Howard (single).

The pitchers for both teams then did their jobs up to the bottom of the 4th when Godley got one run with a hit batter, a sacrifice and a single making the score 2-1 Kennedale. The pitching duel continued until the top of the 6th when Kennedale added one run on a lead-off triple by Crowder and a passed ball to make it 3-1.

The LadyKats added two more runs in the top of the 7th after Turner walked, Howard reached on an error and Crowder hit her 3nd triple of the game giving the lead at 5-1 going into the bottom of the 7th.

Godley mounted their rally after Turner struck out their first two batters. The next three Godley batters hit with a double and two singles closing the gap to 5-2 with two out. An error loads the bases and Turner hits a batter, scoring one and leaving the bases loaded and a score of 5-3. Then after a foul and three balls, Turner gets a pop-up that is snagged by catcher Rebekah Abair and both the threat and the game are over.

March 30, Venus 16-0 (W)

A big 4th inning by the LadyKats put this game In the deep freeze (9 runs) secured with a no-hitter by Allie Turner.

Turner struck out 10 batters, walking none over four innings. Facing just 14 batters, she threw 55 pitches with 37 strikes.

An RBI double by Alyssa Bradberry and a two-run triple by Rebekah Abair during the first inning and an RBI double by Turner in the second inning but the Kats up after two by a score of 4-0.

Singles by Bradberry and Alexa Neifert helped Kennedale score three runs in the third to take 7-0 lead.

In the 4th and final inning the dam burst and Kennedale scored nine runs with Elizabeth Schiele racking up four RBIs on a double and a homer. Helping in the fourth was a double by Bradberry, a single by Ashley McElvaney and a triple by Jazlyn Crowder.

Kennedale begins the second round of district play against Alvarado next Thursday, April 7 at Alvarado with game time scheduled for 6:30 p.m.