Trotters' come-back thwarted

A late comeback by the Plains Trotters was foiled by the visiting Florence Lady Falcons, who used a five-run seventh inning to hang on for a 16-8 victory Thursday afternoon at Plains.

The two teams took full advantage of a rare clear and warm day and played the full amount of seven innings, treating the crowd of nearly 30 to some competitive softball action.

The Trotters were led by senior Bethany Catalanello, who went two-for-four with three runs batted in, and junior Keaton Jones, who was three-for-three with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Lady Falcons were led by Kayla Schmid, who went three-for-three with one RBI and three runs scored.

The Florence squad used “small ball” tactics to obtain their only run of the first inning, bunting for base hits three times in the frame, confusing the Trotter infielders. They then exploded for six runs in the top of the second, with the help of two doubles and a triple from the heart of their order.

The Trotters followed with two runs of their own, driven in by juniors Darla Best and Chelsea Roosma. Jones singled to start off the inning, and was followed by Emily Morigeau, also a junior, who was hit by a pitch. Jones was then driven in by Best’s RBI single, and Morigeau moved to third. Roosma took the plate and drove a grounder to the third baseman, who threw home to stop Morigeau from scoring. The result was a collision at home, and when the dust cleared Morigeau was declared safe when catcher Shanna Moore was found to have dropped the ball at impact, drawing the score to 7-2.

The Lady Falcons scored three more in the third, but what looked to be a potential big inning was put to rest by a double play. The Trotters again answered, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning, with Catalanello scoring on a Jones single and Jones scoring on a single by Best.

Senior Gabby Reynolds, who relieved starting pitcher Morigeau in the top of the third, then retired five straight batters and Catalanello drove in sophomore Sam Buchanon in the bottom half of the frame. After allowing a run in the top of the fifth, the Trotters created three more of their own, with Catalanello driving in a pair and Jones collecting another RBI. The promising inning was ended, however, by a spectacular diving play by first baseman Schmid, who charged down the first baseline in foul territory and dove to catch a foul pop-up off the bat of Morigeau, leaving the score at 11-8.

The sixth inning was without scoring, thanks to another double play by the Trotters’ defense, and a three-up, three-down bottom half of the inning. The Lady Falcons put an end to the Trotters’ hopes, scoring five runs off of three Plains errors and put the game out of reach. The Trotters were retired easily in the bottom half of the inning, ending the contest with a 16-8 final score, dropping the Trotters to a 1-8 record.

“They fought back a long ways,” said coach Russ Heward. “And we certainly started to hit the ball.” Despite this improvement, the team is still learning and according to Heward, “still making critical errors in the field.”

The Trotters have no games slated this week, which will give them plenty of time to shore up some defensive woes, “lots of practice this week,” said Heward.