Plains-Hot Springs falls at Mission
Tierra Thompson of Plains-Hot Springs took the mound for the Trotters on Saturday afternoon at Mission. Thompson got the start for the junior varsity squad during their 4-14, six-inning loss.
The Plains-Hot Springs Trotters opened their 2011 season just one hit shy of a victory.
On Saturday, Janeal McDonald of St. Ignatius drove in the winning run with a one out, in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift her Bulldog’s to an opening day victory, 4-3.
“The kids played very well,” Trotter head coach Larry Rivinius said. “We had an opportunity to win and that’s all you can ask.”
Kyla Olson took the mound for St. Ignatius, picking up her first win of the season as Lauren Erickson led the Bulldog offense, going 3 for 4 with a double.
Aspen Rude, also pitched the entire game, picking up the loss and striking out seven for Plains-Hot Springs.
Rivinius credited Rude, not only for fanning several hitters, but for keeping opposing batters on the their heels with her change-up. Because of Rude’s effectiveness with her off speed pitches, Pirker reasoned, Missions bats were unable to connect solidly with the ball.
Although offensive statistics for Plains-Hot Springs were not available, Rivinius was happy with the way his team hit on Saturday. He was optimistic that so many batters made contact. Needing just a little work, and a little more power behind their swings, Pirker feels his squad is on the right track in the batter’s box.
Rivinius was especially pleased with his team’s defense in their first outing of the season as Plains-Hot Springs committed just two errors in the contest. Specifically, he mentioned junior second basemen Hannah Powell as a standout.
“She handled everything that came her way and made a lot of assists,” he said.
The Trotters will host Florence on Thursday for their first double header of the season. Rude will again start the first game and junior Karlina Heward will get the nod in the second.
According to Rivinius, Florence generally has a strong team and they easily defeated Plains last year.
“I’m anxious to see how it will turn out,” he said. “We’ve determined that we can play with Mission, but we’ll have to see if we can compete with the teams that are generally in the top of the league, like Florence.”