Plains softball tops Eureka to get into divisional tourney

A season that was salvaged earlier in the week came to an end a few days later for the Plains Trotters fastpitch softball team.

Facing a loser-out, play-in game that would boost them to the Western Division tournament in Florence, the Trotters came up with their biggest win of the year as they eliminated 7B conference foe Eureka 16-10 this past Tuesday in Plains. 

The play-in victory sent them to a first-round match against powerful Florence, which dealt the Trotters a 15-1 loss, knocking them into the consolation round Friday where they faced another 7B opponent, Troy, which eliminated Plains from the tournament 12-8. 

The week’s activity left the young Trotters with a 4-17 overall mark, with a talented albeit young group of players returning next year. 

“We made some good decisions during the game and executed enough to win it”, said head coach Jon Zigler. “It's a big step for this young team, a very bright future indeed”. 

Eureka opened the game under threatening skies and gusty winds that occasionally whipped up mini-dust storms at the Plains High field, taking a 2-0 lead in their half of the first inning. Plains responded with a run in the bottom of the first, cutting the early Lady Lions lead in half. 

Neither team scored in the second, but Eureka erupted for five runs in the top of the third giving them a 7-1 lead. 

But the Trotters answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third, leaving the score 7-5 after three innings of play. The Lions added to their lead with a solo run in the top of the fourth, but the Trotters roared back with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, giving them a 9-8 lead. 

Eureka regained the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but Plains erased that brief Lions’ lead with four runs in the home half of the fifth, giving them a 13-10 advantage heading into the sixth. 

Along the way, the Trotters benefitted from some timely hits and aggressive base running.  The home team added three “insurance” runs in their half of the sixth, then held Eureka scoreless in the top of the seventh, setting off a joyous celebration on the field and in the stands. 

Plains outhit Eureka 13-6 in the game, with several Trotters recording multiple hit days at the plate, led by Bri Kulawinski, who was 3-4 with a triple and double, three RBIs and four runs scored.  Teammate Taylor Saner was 4-5 with a pair of RBIs and scored four runs for the Trotters, while Emery Josephson was 2-4 with three RBIs and Montana Taylor was 2-4 with two RBIs. 

Three Plains pitchers combined to strike out 10 Lady Lions over the course of the game. 

Next up was the coveted trip to Florence to take on the top-ranked Lady Falcons on their home field. 

Florence erupted for six runs in the bottom of the first inning, then added three more in the bottom of the second while holding Plains scoreless over the first two innings. 

Plains got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when they plated a single run, but Florence’s potent offense plated five more runs in the bottom of the third. 

Plains could not score in the fourth and fifth innings while the home team added a solo score in the bottom of the fourth, giving them a 14-run lead and halting the game via the Mercy rule. 

Florence outhit Plains 14-4 during the game, with Ava Philbrick and Taylor Pyette belting two home runs each.  Philbrick led the Falcons with four RBIs. 

Randy Kilgore was 2-2 at the plate to lead Plains.   

The loss to Florence sent the Trotters into a Friday loser-out consolation round game versus Troy. 

Plains plated five runs in the top of the first inning versus Troy on three hits, including a triple by Taylor Saner and an RBI single by Josephson, a promising eighth grader. 

Troy scored twice in the bottom of the first, making it 5-2 in favor of Plains.  Lady Trojans pitching then shut down the Trotters over the next four innings while the Troy hitters added two in the second, and three in the third to take a 7-5 going into the bottom of the fifth. 

Troy trimmed one run off the Plains lead in their half of the fifth, but Plains responded with two runs in the top of the sixth, leaving Troy with an 8-7 lead. 

Troy answered those runs with four in the bottom of the sixth, then held Plains to one run in the top of the seventh to secure the 12-8 victory and end the Trotters’ season. 

Autumn Fisher and Halle Wallace each hit a home run to lead the Troy attack. 

Senior Trysten Larsen, the team’s only senior, went 3-4 at the plate and drove in one run for the Trotters.  Saner and Karissa French had two hits and one RBI each for Plains.