Wildcats’ rally falls short in doubleheader loss to Ottawa

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 7, 2025

***Louisburg junior Shyloh Waite slides safely into second base Thursday against Ottawa at Lewis-Young Park. The Wildcats lost the doubleheader, 7-6 and 12-2.***

It has been a tough start for the Louisburg softball team as its schedule hasn’t let the Wildcats ease into the season.

Louisburg opened against a 3A state power in Frontenac and a challenging Fort Scott Tournament field that left the Wildcats with four straight losses to open the year.

Those setbacks didn’t get the Wildcats down as they hosted Ottawa in its home opener Thursday at Lewis-Young Park. Although they lost both games, the Wildcats nearly pulled off a big comeback in game one in a 7-6 loss.

Louisburg fell in the nightcap, 12-2, but Wildcat coach Nick Chapman saw a lot of positives from his young team.

“The road has been pretty tough for us to start,” Chapman said. “We have some girls that are stepping into full time varsity spots for the first time and we are still trying to figure out what our identity is. On top of that, we started off with Frontenac who is a powerhouse and they are masters of the small ball game. Fort Scott is experienced and pretty solid. Ottawa has always been consistent, no matter who they have in their lineup.

“We are working to get better, game-to-game, and learning who we are. The best thing about this group is that they are in it for each other and they just want to help the team get better. We took a big step forward Thursday night and realized that we can be really good when we play clean defense and put the ball in play.”

***Louisburg freshman Annabelle Hathaway makes contact with a pitch Thursday against Ottawa.***

In the opener Thursday against Ottawa, the Wildcats did a lot of that, especially in the bottom of the fifth inning. Down 7-1 and with two outs, Louisburg used a 5-run fifth to cut the Cyclone lead to just one.

Junior Peytyn Van Tyle opened the inning with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore McKinley Harmon tripled home Emily Brotherton and later scored on an Addy Stohs single.

Brynley Bauer singled home Stohs, and Annabelle Hathaway scored on another passed ball to make it 7-6.

The Wildcats tried for another rally in the bottom of the seventh when Stohs opened with single, but was left stranded at first.

“Instead of putting our heads down, the girls just chipped away,” Chapman said. “We made adjustments, played better defense and held them off their momentum and then we had finally had a big inning ourselves. It was each girl in our lineup finding ways to get on base, move baserunners, and score baserunners. It wasn’t just one girl as 1-9 in our lineup contributed. McKinley, Emily, Brynley, and Addy were seeing it real well all night and making solid contact. We had some girls step up and lay some big time bunts down or just put the ball in play to move baserunners.

“We did most of that damage with 2 outs which was really cool. That’s the best thing about this beautiful game. There’s no clock. You have 3 outs to do as much damage as you can and with 1 out to spare we did just that. We kept that momentum and played great defense to give ourselves a chance in the bottom of the seventh. We just ran out of the magic. I’m so dang proud of them. It was great to see their confidence and belief in themselves finally show up. As a coach, I know we can be good but each girl needs to believe in themselves and trust what they have learned since they have been playing T-Ball because we have some really quality players.”

***Louisburg second baseman Raeya Keagle tries to turn a double play Thursday against Ottawa.***

Brotherton led the Wildcat offense in the first game with three hits, including a double, while Stohs and Hathaway each had a pair of hits.

Van Tyle pitched for the Wildcats and allowed just three earned runs in seven innings and struck out two.

In the second game, the Wildcats jumped out to a 2-1 lead after one inning after Stohs doubled and scored on a triple by Hathaway. Bauer drove home Hathaway on an RBI single.

Ottawa took the lead back with three runs in the second, but used an 8-run fifth inning to secure the sweep over Louisburg. Hathaway and Bauer each had two hits to pace the Wildcat offense.