Highland flies by Comets, falls short to Lancers

For the second straight week to open the season, the Highland High softball team split two non-conference ballgames. First on Tuesday of last week, the Bulldogs were rude hosts as they beat up on visiting Greenville 12-1 in 4  1/2 innings. Then on the next day, Highland came up a single run short in a 1-0 loss to the visiting Belleville East Lancers.

Highland’s game last Thursday at Granite City was rained out. This week, the Bulldogs (2-2) were scheduled to travel to Mater Dei on Tuesday before hosting Althoff on Wednesday and Gillespie on Thursday.

Belleville East 1, Highland 0

Eerily similar to the the 3-1 loss to the O’Fallon Panthers seven days earlier, the Bulldogs engaged in a battle of area powerhouses with another very game Southwestern Conference opponent, this time the Belleville East Lancers. And just like the loss to the Panthers, Highland got another strong pitching performance from junior lefty Aubrey Hacke, but the Bulldogs were foiled again by lack of timely hitting, stranded runners and a costly error. Highland also had a big base-running mistake against the Lancers.

Belleville East, which had a 6-2 record at the News Leader’s press time, backed good pitching with an even better defense, and the Lancers scratched out the only run they would need after capitalizing an a first-inning error and then hanging on the rest of the way for the 1-0 victory in a tilt that was over in 75 minutes.

East sophomore pitcher Kristina Bettis scattered seven hits and walked two and received a lot of help from her defense, including a game-ending play that preserved the one-run win. On the play, Highland junior Reily Kassay lined a single down the third-base line and HHS first-year coach Greg Exton waved sophomore Hannah Sullens around third base. But East senior left fielder Becca Dahm charged the ball, quickly scooped it up and unleashed a perfect one-hop strike to home plate to sophomore catcher Alex Boze, who applied the tag to cut Sullens down at home plate.

“I knew going in if she makes a good throw she’s going to get her,” Exton said. “But it’s the seventh inning, you got two outs, you’re down one run, you’ve got to take the chance. You’ve got to put the pressure on them and make something happen. If that throw is two feet up the line, we score. Their player made a great throw.”

Sullens was pinch running for junior Sierra Huelsmann, who reached on a one-out single to center. Sullens moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Sophomore Kirsten Plocher hit a hard line drive but Lancer senior second baseman Brooke Laidley’s quick reflexes allowed her to snag it for the second out.

Dahm also made a great grab an inning earlier. After Hacke coaxed a leadoff walk in the sixth, junior Hannah Miener scalded a ball towards the fence in left but Dahm made a nice play to accurately judge the ball and snare it. Then after Highland junior Peyton Holzinger hit a single to left to put the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base, Bettis got freshman Lily Garbett to hit a hard ground ball to junior third baseman Jessica Belzer. Belzer fielded it, stepped on third for a force out before firing across the diamond to first to complete a 5-3 double play and end the threat.

Dahm also scored the game’s only run in the first when she reached on an error with one out and later scored on a single from Belzer.

“That first inning is what cost us the game,” Exton said.

The Lancers’ sure-handed and play-making defense was a theme throughout the game.

In the fifth, East pulled off a well-executed rundown between second and third to capitalize on a base-running mistake and erase a potential Highland rally.

In addition, Lancer senior shortstop Lindsey Mossman made a pair of good plays. She received help on one of them from sophomore first baseman Kendall Patton, who flashed the leather on a short-hop throw.

The defensive gems all helped Bettis (3-0), a tall and lanky right-hander, make the run in the first frame stand up.

“It was a great defensive effort I thought by both sides,” East coach Natalie Peters said. “Luckily, we were able to squeak one out in the first inning. I was super proud of our defense and pitching.”

Hacke definitely pitched well enough to deserve a better fate, but due to lack of run support and a costly error, she instead suffered another tough-luck loss to fall to early in the season.

After the error with one out in the first inning, she gave up three straight bloop hits, none of which were hit hard, to allow the unearned run to score. After the first frame, Hacke grew even stronger, permitting just three hits and one walk over the final six frames. At one point, she sat down 10 batters in a row. Hacke finished with five strikeouts.

Five times throughout the game, the Bulldogs had a runner reach at least second base, but the Lancers’ defense and Bettis were able to worm out of trouble on each occasion.

“We had some hits and hit the ball hard several times, but just left those runners stranded every time,” Exton said.

Highland 12, Greenville 1 (4  1/2 innings)

The Bulldogs pounced on the Comets for an eight-run first inning and never looked back en route to posting their second short-game in a row.

Overall, Highland needed just three at-bats to pile up the 12 runs and bring the game to a hasty conclusion. The Bulldogs did not even need to bat in the fifth inning after combining seven hits and eight walks with six Comet errors.

Addison Rinderer looked sharp in the circle for the Bulldogs. The Comets managed just one hit and two walks off of the sophomore southpaw. Rinderer (1-0) allowed only one earned run and struck out nine during her five innings of work.

Leading the offense for Highland were Kassay, Huelsmann, Wright, Baer and Miener.

Kassay was a perfect 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Huelsmann added a hit, two RBIs and one run. Wright (a double), Baer, Miener all contributed one hit and one RBI apiece. Baer also scored twice and Baer and Miener each scored once.

In addition, sophomore Cassie Fuller added one hit and Rinderer had two walks.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 8:15 AM with the headline "Highland flies by Comets, falls short to Lancers."