Too Many Mistakes Lead to 5-inning Loss. Marquette 15, Webster 5

You cannot give any team 7 extra outs of chances to advance and expect a positive outcome. And that many freebies to a team from a program as strong as Marquette’s is especially problematical. Of the 15 runs scored by the Mustangs, 11 were unearned. While a misplay on their side also led to a run or two, the game cold have been much closer.

Defense is an ongoing area of emphasis, “taking care of the ball,” and using good judgment on when and where to throw. We saw some progress, not just today but since the beginning of the season, but to this point our defense is somewhat inconsistent. Our pitchers deserved better fates than they suffered today, and we will need more consistent performance if we hope to go on a roll before the end of the season.

We head south, way south, tomorrow, visiting Festus before a long (for us) weekend. The varsity is over in Liberty and Coaches Cerutti and Wylie are accompanying them, so JV Black will get a long weekend with Friday off. Thanks to Karen Smith for the pix, and, oh, by the way, Happy Birthday to Our Gal Friday.

Nicola Rikand quickly changed course and took the out at home in the second inning.

Marko gets the forecourt at home from Nic Rikand in the top of the second.

Morgan Lawrence went 3-for-3 and slides in here with a triple to drive in Bailey Allen for our first run. Morgan later scored on a long sacrifice fly by Emmy Gary.

Maddie Keefer catches another Mustang runner at the plate on a heads up throw from shortstop Taylor Smith.

Credit the Mustangs with the courage call and execute a 2-strike bunt; Morgan showed good judgement by eating the ball.

Happy birthday to an important leader, Taylor Graning (TG[IF]) -- aka Friday. The nickname traces its provenance back to her freshman year, when we had TK and TG -- and you can figure the rest out yourselves.

Webster 13, Lindbergh 0

The 2019 JV Softball season is now officially underway, and while we would have preferred a more challenging game, perhaps this was the best way to get the jitters out of the way, as all of our players saw significant playing time in the 5-inning 13-0 victory over the Lindbergh Flyers. Besides the victory, I enjoyed reconnecting with two former students from my Hancock days (two brothers who served as my yearbook editors and are now the head principal and social studies department chair at LHS) and Maddy Raimondo, a former WG player of mine who is now an assistant principal.

Our next opponents will provide us with plenty of challenge as we face Oakville at home tomorrow (Thursday), visit Eureka on Friday, and host Poplar Bluff in the second game of a double header on Saturday. We know the first two will test us and I expect Poplar Bluff didn’t decide to drive three hours to get clobbered.

But we’ll celebrate today’s win (all 3 teams won today) and worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow. Behind the pitching of Olivia Leaver, who picked up her first JV win and Nicola Rikand (a 3-inning “save”), the inexperienced Flyers were overmatched. We put the brakes on early but also struggled against the soft tosses of the Lindbergh pitcher (the principal’s daughter). Our defense was generally solid, with Taylor (Friday) Graning especially flashing some leather at 2B. Thanks to Karen Smith for the photos that follow. Okay, also thanks to the "Live" feature on my iPhone (I do not stock, but I do admit to having been an Apple Fanboy for 35 years now) for some of the others.

Freshman Morgan Lawrence contributed two hits including a double and drove home three runs; Maddie Keefer added her own double and drove in two. I know the girls appreciated all the fans in the stands for their first game as we look forward to our home opener tomorrow against the Tigers from Oakville.

Go go get 'em.... Let's play ball!

The Flyers decided to test Olivia Leaver right away with a bunt -- Put out, 1-3

Taylor (Friday) Graning played a solid 2B, solidified the right side defense with 3 put outs and 2 assists.

Ally Marshall settles under a fly ball to CF for the last out of the first inning.

Nora Marcinkiewicz prepare to grab Strike 3 for Olivia Leaver's first JV-Black K.

Maddie Keefer hangs on the Strike 3 from Nicola Rikand

Freshman Morgan Lawrence flips to Friday for a force at second and almost a DP.

Nicola Rikand finished the game with 3 innings in the circle, four strike outs.