Atkinson hits four dingers in four games, drives in 12

The 2023 softball season has begun for Ash Grove High School, as the Lady Pirates took part in the Lady Eagles Spring Softball Tournament hosted by Purdy High School in Joplin on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, and came home with four wins. Not only did they grab wins but also some highlights, as Lady Pirate Jamalynn Atkinson hit four home runs in four games, including a grand slam.
    In their first game of the year, Ash Grove was beaten by Diamond 6-1 on Friday night. Ash Grove scored their only run in the first inning on a Maddi Grube RBI single. Ashlyn Gerla ended the game 2-3.
    In their second game of the season, the Lady Pirates jumped all over Sweet Springs, scoring eight runs in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning to win the game 10-2. Atkinson went 2-3 with two home runs and four RBI’s, Grube was 2-4 with an RBI, Gerla finished 1-3 with a double and two RBI’s and Sway Kenny ended the game 1-2 with two RBI’s.
    On Saturday, the Lady Pirates fell behind Lamar 2-0 in the first inning but were able to tie it at 2-2 in the bottom of the first and then take the lead in the second. Ash Grove scored single runs in the second, third and fifth innings and scored two runs in the fourth inning.
    Atkinson hit her third home run of the tournament and finished 2-3 with two RBI’s, Chelsye Graham was 2-3 with a home run and two RBI’s and Madison Lutz ended the game 1-1 with two RBI’s.
    In their fourth game of the tournament, Ash Grove was able to double up Pierce City and win 10-5, thanks in part to a seven-run third inning. The Lady Pirates added three more runs in the fourth inning.
    Atkinson hit her fourth home run of the tournament, this time a grand slam and finished 2-2, Gerla went 3-3 with two doubles and an RBI, Chelsey Andrus was 2-4 with two doubles and two RBI’s and Meagan Hawkins finished the game 3-3, with two RBI’s.
    In their final game of the tournament, the Lady Pirates shut out Jasper 10-0, scoring three runs in the first inning, four runs in the second, a single run in the third and two runs in the fifth inning. Lutz went 4-4 with two doubles and four RBI’s, Atkinson was 2-3 with two RBI’s, Grube finished 3-3 with a double and an RBI and Andrus ended the game 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
    On the pitching side of things, Atkinson finished the tournament with two wins in three games, allowing five earned runs in 14 innings pitched with 15 strike outs. Hawkins went 2-0 in her two starts, allowing three earned runs on six innings pitched with seven strike outs.
“The girls had an all-around great weekend,” said head coach Austin Tipton. “For how cold it was, the bats were alive, and our pitching was good. It was nice to see them in multiple scenarios, especially ones where they started down early in a couple of games and to see them fight their way back. It was a solid start to our season that we can build off of.”
The Lady Pirates are currently 4-1 and will look to continue that momentum this week as they take part in the Mt. Vernon Tournament, which started Monday and will conclude tomorrow.