Pirates baseball improve to 8-0, Lady Pirates walk off Diamond

The Ash Grove High School baseball team picked up three more wins last week, defeating New Heights Christian Academy, Mansfield and Walnut Grove.

On Thursday, April 2, the Pirates hosted New Heights and won that game 9-4.

Ash Grove took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and then added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning to go up 6-0. A three-run bottom of the fourth inning completed the scoring for the Pirates and gave them a 9-0 lead. The Cougars scored one run in fifth inning and three runs in the seventh inning.

Hunter Heffernon was 2-3 with two doubles, a run scored and three RBIs, Jaden Shorter went 3-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs and Ty Messley was 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

The Pirates traveled to Mansfield on Tuesday, March 31 and came home with a 5-2 win.

After a scoreless first inning, Ash Grove scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Lions scored a run in the third inning to cut the lead to 3-1 before the Pirates plated two more runs in the sixth inning to increase their lead to 5-1. Mansfield added their final run in the seventh inning to complete the scoring.

Toby Barnes was 2-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs, Kyler Reece went 2-3 with two doubles and an RBI, Mesley finished the game 1-3 with an RBI. Reece was also the starting pitcher and got the win going seven innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with two walks and three strike outs.

Ash Grove started their week by traveling to Walnut Grove on Monday, March 30 and coming home with a 24-7 win.

Ash Grove led 6-0 after the top of the first inning and seven nothing after two innings. After a lack of scoring by either team in the middle part of the game, the Pirates erupted for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning, including a two-run home run by Messley, and 10 runs in the top of the seventh inning. The Tigers scored six times in the bottom of the sixth inning and once in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Messley was 3-4 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and four RBIs, Shorter went 4-5 with three doubles, four runs scored and three RBIs and Heffernon was 2-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

The Pirates are 8-0 on the season and were scheduled to play against Greenfield on Monday before traveling to Sarcoxie last night. Ash Grove will finish out the week by hosting New Covenant Academy tomorrow night and Sparta and Exeter on Saturday.

Softball

The Lady Pirates softball team had four games last week, winning two and losing two.

Ash Grove traveled to Fair Grove on Friday, April 3, and came home with a 10-0 loss. Abby Stevens, Oakley Dowling and Adyson Murray each had a hit in the game.

Thursday night, the Lady Pirates traveled to Clever and came home with a 9-7 win.

Ash Grove led 2-1 after the first inning, 4-2 after the second inning and 7-3 after the third inning. After a scoreless fourth inning, the Lady Jays added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut Ash Grove’s lead to 7-6. The Lady Pirates added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to increase their lead to 9-6. Clever scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete the scoring for the game.

Brooke Nicholson was 1-2 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI, Stevens went 2-5 with a triple and two runs scored, Dowling was 2-3 with two doubles and two RBIs and Lacey McCullough finished the game 2-5 with five runs scored and three RBIs.

Ash Grove hosted Diamond on Tuesday and walked it off with a 3-2 win.

The Wildcats led 1-0 after the first inning and 2-0 after the fifth inning. The bottom of the seventh inning is where it got interesting for the Lady Pirates as McCullough doubled to right to drive in two runs and tie the game at 2-2. A few moments later Nicholson would double to center field to drive in McCullough with the game winner.

McCullough went 2-4 with two doubles, a run scored and two RBIs and Nicholson was 1-3 with a double and an RBI. McCullough was also the winning pitcher, going seven innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strike outs.

On Monday, the Lady Pirates hosted Class 2, fifth ranked Mt. Vernon and lost to the Lady Comets 8-2.

Neither team scored in the first inning, but Mt. Vernon added five runs in the second inning and three runs in the fourth inning. Ash Grove scored both of their runs in the second inning.

McCullough went 1-3 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI and Nicholson finished the game 1-2 with a double.

Ash Grove is 5-5 on the season and were scheduled to play at Southwest (Washburn) on Monday night before hosting Sarcoxie last night and then traveling to Stockton tomorrow night. The lady Pirates will host the Ash Grove Classic on Saturday.