Eudora 10, Louisburg 0

EUDORA – It wasn’t the endings that the Louisburg softball team was looking for Tuesday when it traveled to Eudora.

After falling in a 10-0 loss to start the doubleheader, the Lady Cats jumped out to a 3-run lead in the nightcap, but they couldn’t hang on in a 4-3 loss to the Cardinals.

In the second game, Louisburg got a good start from junior pitcher Kelsey Higginbotham as she pitched a complete game and allowed two earned runs in six innings.

The Louisburg offense did the job behind her early on as it scored two runs in the second, and another in the third, to take a 3-0 lead on RBI singles from Shayla Meyer, Alyse Moore and Higginbotham.

Eudora whittled away at the lead with a run in the third and fourth innings, and eventually took the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth.

Junior Molly Rison nearly tied the game for Louisburg in the top of seventh with a long drive to centerfield, but the ball died in the cold, windy conditions on the warning track. The Wildcats were unable to threaten after that.

“Game two was a much better performance,” Louisburg coach John Ozier said. “The girls turned in some outstanding plays on defense. It was a heartbreaker at the end of the game to have battled that hard and have no wins to show for it. This is a very resilient group and I anticipate some great things before this season ends.”

Louisburg’s Shayla Meyer makes a pitch Tuesday against Eudora.

Junior Karson Griggs led the Wildcat offense in the nightcap with three hits and Rison added a pair of singles as well. In all, Louisburg accounted for 11 hits and Lauren Cutshaw had the lone extra base hit with a double.

Louisburg (1-5) had a tough time getting much contact against Eudora pitcher Kyla Etter in game one. Etter struck out 10 Louisburg batters and gave up just one hit, which was a single to Meyer.

Meyer started the first game for the Lady Cats, but was hurt by five Louisburg errors in the 10-run loss. Meyer gave up just three earned runs on 11 hits.

“Overall, we were disappointed with our performance in game one,” Ozier said. “We had a number of miscues on defense, giving Eudora four or five outs in a couple of innings. They are a very good team, and took advantage of the opportunities. We faced one of the top pitchers in the league and put some runners on base. We continue to struggle with timely hitting.”

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track tonight when it travels to Wellsville for a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.