Both games of the Dodge City Community College’s softball team’s doubleheader was drastically different Tuesday as the Lady Conquistadors split with Pratt, winning the opener, 3-2, in extra innings and losing the nightcap, 11-1, at Legends Park.
When Dodge City’s Celine Hayward hit a routine grounder to Pratt shortstop Ashley Shell with two outs and trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Lady Conqs would lose the opener.
But Shell could not make an accurate throw to first, as the ball fell a few feet into foul territory. Hayward with aggressive base running, darted to second on a close play.
“We have told these kids, ‘Lets put the ball in play and make them field it, throw it and catch it,’” Dodge City head coach Howie Smith said. “Right now, we are struggling in the batter’s box. The one thing I have said about this team all year is they won’t quit. They won’t quit and we keep saying, ‘If you keep playing hard, things will happen.’”
A few pitches later, she moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored when Dodge City High School product Cheyenne Schellhamer hit an RBI triple to the left-center field gap off Pratt hurler Alyssa Ramirez to tie the game at 2.
The Lady Conqs’ Kaylee Sotelo reached on an error on an infield pop fly, and Schellhamer made it safely home with the winning run.
“We just felt like it was a pitcher where she was kind of throwing up in the zone and if Cheyenne could get the head (of the bat) through at the letters (she would be successful),” Smith said. “Their outfield was playing in a little bit because it was her first at-bat and she just looks like a regular slapper and she would try to slap it on the ground. She got a pitch up in the zone and kept her hands through it and got it to the fence.”
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Both games of the Dodge City Community College’s softball team’s doubleheader was drastically different Tuesday as the Lady Conquistadors split with Pratt, winning the opener, 3-2, in extra innings and losing the nightcap, 11-1, at Legends Park.
When Dodge City’s Celine Hayward hit a routine grounder to Pratt shortstop Ashley Shell with two outs and trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Lady Conqs would lose the opener.
But Shell could not make an accurate throw to first, as the ball fell a few feet into foul territory. Hayward with aggressive base running, darted to second on a close play.
“We have told these kids, ‘Lets put the ball in play and make them field it, throw it and catch it,’” Dodge City head coach Howie Smith said. “Right now, we are struggling in the batter’s box. The one thing I have said about this team all year is they won’t quit. They won’t quit and we keep saying, ‘If you keep playing hard, things will happen.’”
A few pitches later, she moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored when Dodge City High School product Cheyenne Schellhamer hit an RBI triple to the left-center field gap off Pratt hurler Alyssa Ramirez to tie the game at 2.
The Lady Conqs’ Kaylee Sotelo reached on an error on an infield pop fly, and Schellhamer made it safely home with the winning run.
“We just felt like it was a pitcher where she was kind of throwing up in the zone and if Cheyenne could get the head (of the bat) through at the letters (she would be successful),” Smith said. “Their outfield was playing in a little bit because it was her first at-bat and she just looks like a regular slapper and she would try to slap it on the ground. She got a pitch up in the zone and kept her hands through it and got it to the fence.”
