Off and Running: Lebanon softball picks up two wins
Mar. 20—WESTFIELD — Krryn Miller and her Lebanon softball teammates couldn't have asked for a much better start to their season on Monday evening at Grand Park.
After working around a walk and a hit by pitch in the top of the first inning, Miller blasted the fourth pitch of the bottom half of the first over the fence in left for a home run, and igniting the Tigers offense in a 21-2, five-inning win over Sheridan.
"Krryn is a superstar and did a really good job of setting the tone for the game," Lebanon head coach Robert Archambeau said. "The girls sparked from there. It was a solid game, but I am looking for a little more continuity. We had some big innings, but then had an inning with zero. The girls played well today and Sheridan is a growing program that is going to continue to get better."
The 21 runs scored was just the fourth time in the last three years the Tigers scored 20 or more runs.
Every game in the line-up scored at least one run in the game, and the Tigers did a good job throughout the game of taking advantage of the opportunities in front of them.
They had 10 hits (including three home runs) and five walks in the game, but took advantage of eight Sheridan errors as well.
They scored seven runs in three of their four plate appearances.
"Ninety percent of the time I didn't even have to tell them to go," Archambeau said. "They were ready to go and ready to win. We have been preaching patience during the pre-season, but the girls are ready to go and do good things."
After Miller's home run, Mackenzie Carey followed with an inside the park home run to make it 2-0 less than 10 pitches into the game.
It became 4-0 when Charli Albea hit an RBI-single then came all the way around to score on an error, then the Tigers added three more when with two on, Lillie Hollingsworth reach via an error that allowed everyone to score.
Lebanon added seven in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Albea, three wild pitches, two errors and an RBI-single by Carey.
Up 14-2 in the fourth, the Tigers extended the lead on an RBI-double by Albea, an Avery Blount single and a 2-run in-the-park homer from Abby Johnson.
That was more than enough run support for Miller, who allowed two runs on three hits and three walks. She struck out seven.
Archambeau said he also liked the way his defense played for the opening game of the year.
"Our defense is an area we want to continue to grow," Archambeau said. "To see that we were doing well there, I am really proud of the girls."
Carey was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs for Lebanon. Miller, Albea, and Blount all had two hits.
Kylie Ottinger was 0-0 with three walks and three runs scored. Hollingsworth and Albea also scored twice.
With poor weather looming on Wednesday, the Tigers moved Wednesday night's game against Cardinal Ritter up to Monday evening to make it a double-header.
The Tigers jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the second inning.
In the first two innings, Carey was 3-for-3 with seven RBIs and two runs scored. She hit an inside-the-park grand slam in the second inning.
Richards was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs and Albea was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
The Tigers are scheduled to host Guerin Catholic on Tuesday and Heritage Christian on Thursday.
"Confidence is key when it comes to softball," Archambeau said. "All of these games are used to try and build confidence. We got off to the great start in game one, and I hope to see it continue."
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.
