Prairie View sweeps Lady Cat softball

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 12, 2016

Louisburg senior Christina Dalrymple (right) flips the ball to freshman shortstop Kennia Hankinson to try and turn a double play during a game earlier this season. The Lady Cats fell to Prairie View on Thursday in both games of the doubleheader.

LA CYGNE – To say the Louisburg High School softball team had a rough day Thursday might be an understatement.

It was not just because of the final score, or the frigid weather conditions, but the Lady Cats watched as a teammate went down with an injury in the second game of the doubleheader at Prairie View High School.

Senior Christina Dalrymple sustained a knee injury midway through the second game and was unable to finish the contest. Louisburg also lost both games of the doubleheader 12-4 and 13-1 and is still looking for its first win.

“We suffered a major blow when Christina went down with the injury,” Louisburg coach John Ozier said. “She is one of our senior leaders. In the meantime, we will need to have the next girl up, step in and be ready to compete.”

In the opener, the Lady Cats got going early as they had a one-run lead in the second and third innings. Prairie View, however, scored two runs in the second and three in the third to take a 5-3 lead into the fifth inning.

The Buffalos broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning and added three more in the sixth to take the first game.

Freshman Molly Rison had a big day at the plate for Louisburg as she had a pair of hits, including a home run in the sixth and had 3 RBIs. Junior Allyssa Griggs finished with three hits, including a triple, while senior Miranda White and freshman Kennia Hankinson each added two hits.

Griggs also started the game for Louisburg (0-6) and had to work around three errors. She gave up five earned runs, but struck out nine batters.

“We took two steps back last Thursday,” Ozier said. “We continue to struggle with timely hitting. We are putting good pressure on the defense, but we still have not had that big hit that leads to a big inning.”

The Lady Cats couldn’t find that big inning in the nightcap, either.

Prairie View jumped on Louisburg early as it scored five runs in each of the first two innings to pull away for the 12-run victory.

White had a big day offensively for the Lady Cats as she finished 3-for-3 with a double and was the lone Lady Cat to have a multi-hit game. Junior Emalee Overbay drove in White in the first inning to give Louisburg a 1-0 lead.

Louisburg will try for its first win today when it travels to Eudora. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

“Even though this team is winless in six games, we continue to compete hard,” Ozier said. “We just need to eliminate the base running errors, and defensively, avoid the big inning by the other team.”