Wilson strikes out 12, homers to lead Lady Cats past Osawatomie

Louisburg senior Mia Wilson homered and drove home six runs in the Lady Cats’ doubleheader with Osawatomie on Thursday. Wilson also had a complete game performance on the mound with 12 strikeouts.

OSAWATOMIE — Eight games can seem like an eternity when they all end in a loss.

That is what the Louisburg softball team was going through heading into last Thursday’s doubleheader in Osawatomie. Now, the Lady Cats have started a new streak — a better one.

Louisburg snapped its losing skid with an 11-5 and 12-2 victory over Osawatomie at Karl E. Cole Sports Complex as the Lady Cats picked up their first victory since their season opener.

“Those wins were huge for us,” Louisburg coach Nick Chapman said. “I’m so proud of every girl in our lineup. We needed that for our confidence going into these last few weeks of our season. Every girl contributed at the plate and in the field. Once we learned to sit back on their pitchers, our bats exploded the way they are capable of. Every girl hit the ball hard.”

The Lady Cats (4-8) pounded out 23 runs in the two games on 27 hits, but had to play catch up in the opener as Louisburg trailed 3-0 after one inning.

That quickly changed as the Lady Cats scored three runs in the second and third innings and added four more in the fifth to seal the win.

Senior Mia Wilson and sophomore Izzy Moreland each led the way with three hits and both recorded a double. Moreland, sophomore Ashley Moreau and freshman Sabra Brueggen each drove home two runs.

Moreau, Amaya Weilert and Addy Stohs each finished with two hits, while Weilert, Wilson and Jenna Cauthon each added an RBI.

The Lady Cats also played solid defense in the two games as they made several plays in the field that halted any attempt at a Trojan comeback.

“In the field, we made the routine plays that we needed to make and we had a couple great effort plays,” Chapman said. “Amaya was a wall behind the plate. Rylee (Hickey) had a great diving catch off a pop up in front of the plate and controlled the bases well. Infielders played really well. Our outfield played well. Very proud of all of our girls.”

Wilson provided the Wildcats with a strong start on the mound despite a rocky start. She settled in and pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts.

She followed it up with another memorable performance at the plate in game two as she led off the contest with a 2-run home run to give the Lady Cats an early lead. She finished with 5 RBIs in the nightcap.

“Mia had an awesome night,” Chapman said. “She started on the mound, gave up a 2-run home run and another run, had to adjust to the strike zone and then she got going. She had 12 strikeouts and 6 scoreless innings. 

“At the plate she did a lot of great things to help runners get around a score and then she started our huge 1st inning in the second game with a bomb. She was a great example of having to work through some adversity and found ways to be successful. She had one heck of a night.”

Just like the first game, Louisburg got another strong start from its pitchers — this time it came from Moreland. The Louisburg sophomore pitched a complete game and gave up just one earned run and had nine strikeouts.

Moreland got a big lead to work with as the Lady Cats scored all 12 of their runs in the first inning.

Moreau led off for the Lady Cats and finished the game with three hits and an RBI. Cauthon had two hits, including a double and drove home a pair of runs.

Stohs, Moreland and Hickey also had RBI hits in that second game.

Louisburg will try and build on its winning streak Thursday when it travels to Anderson County for a doubleheader.

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