Quinn, Moreland lead Wildcats in rout of Baldwin

It has been a long, but successful week for the Louisburg softball team and the Wildcats ended it Friday with a bang.

The Wildcats hosted Baldwin for a single game and rolled the Bulldogs for a 13-2 victory. Louisburg has now won six of its last seven games and are now 7-5 on the season.

“Last week was definitely a long, crazy week,” Louisburg coach Nick Chapman said. “I thought the girls responded really well, stayed locked in all week and won 4 out of 5 games. You can’t be mad about that.”

It all started with the bats for Louisburg as the Wildcats scored 10 runs in the first three innings and seniors Megan Quinn and Izzy Moreland were a big reason for that. 

In the first inning, Quinn and Moreland hit back-to-back home runs to set the tone. Quinn hit a 3-run shot and Moreland followed with a solo home run to give the Wildcats an early 4-run lead.

The two players combined for 10 RBIs on the game and Quinn led the way with six runs batted in. 

“Everything was clicking at the plate for us,” Chapman said. “A lot of girls were hitting the ball hard and making things happen. Megan and Izzy have been a giant part of our offense that is scoring a lot of runs. It was awesome to see both of them have a huge game, and even better that, they go back-to -back to start the game. They have put a lot of work into honing their craft and it’s really showing this season.”

Moreland also thrived on the mound as she recorded the complete game victory. She gave up three hits and the two runs were unearned. Moreland also finished with 10 strikeouts.

Senior Ashley Moreau also had a strong night offensively with a pair of hits, as did junior Addy Stohs, who added a double. Moreau also scored three runs.

Freshman McKinley Harmon recorded her first two varsity hits, while senior Jenna Cauthon added an RBI double. Sophomore Katelyn Smart also had a hit and a run scored.

Louisburg will try and keep its winning ways going today as the Wildcats travel McPherson for a quad. Louisburg will face McPherson at 4 p.m. and will play either Derby or Emporia in the second game. 

Louisburg splits doubleheader at Tonganoxie

Louisburg made the trip to Tonganoxie in what it thought was going to be just a single game.

After some confusion, the Wildcats played a doubleheader with the Chieftains and left with a split. Louisburg lost the first game 5-3, before rallying for a 9-4 win in the nightcap.

“Tongie was a weird night because of schedule confusion,” Chapman said. “We showed up expecting to play 1 game, sat around while our JV got warmed up, and then all of sudden we were having to get ready quickly to play a doubleheader. Still, the girls responded well.”

The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game, but mistakes on defense led to three runs for Tonganoxie in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

Megan Quinn had two hits, a double and 3 RBIs to lead the offense, while Izzy Moreland, Ashley Moreau and Jenna Cauthon also had two hits.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats got a complete game performance from Quinn on the mound. The Louisburg senior went seven innings, gave up one earned run and struck out four.

Senior Rylee Hickey provided the fireworks with the bat as she tallied three hits, a double and a team-high 3 RBIs.

Cauthon and Quinn each had two hits and 2 RBIs, while Moreau had three hits and scored three runs. Moreland also had two hits and an RBI.

“We came out hot again in the second game and this time we didn’t let up and took care of business,” Chapman said. “We kept adding 1 or 2 runs an inning and then Rylee came up big in the seventh with bases loaded and hit a shot to the outfield to clear the bases. Our offense is really solid right now. If we can find a way to shore up our defense, we are going to be really dangerous as we get closer and closer to regionals.”