SP softball squad wins, stays unbeaten in WIC

The South Putnam Eagles softball team made plays when it had to on Tuesday night, defeating the Greencastle Tiger Cubs 7-6 in their final at-bat.

The Eagles improved their record to 4-4 and more importantly 2-0 in the Western Division of the Western Indiana Conference. Greencastle fell to 1-5 and 0-2 in WIC play.

“We made some plays when we had to. This team being as young as they are, you just want to keep getting better and we keep improving,” South Putnam head coach Jamie Steffy said.

The Tiger Cubs drew first blood on the night. Greencastle scored two runs in the top of the first. They managed to put two runners on Eagle errors, then Kenzie Horton ripped a two-run single to give the Tiger Cubs a short-lived lead.

South’s offense put them back on top in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles patiently drew three walks in the inning, then got an RBI double from Alex Steffy and and RBI single from Drew Steffy. Bree Mahoney-Sutherland brought home two runs with another single.

The Eagle defense settled in behind winning pitcher Brionna Egold. The Tiger Cubs couldn’t get anything going, as the Eagles limited them to the minimum number of batters over the next two innings.

The Eagles got another run in the second on a a Grace Carr RBI double and led 5-3 after three innings.

“We have played some larger schools to start the season. We just couldn’t get the hits we needed. I am not sure what else to do, we just aren’t hitting,” Greencastle head coach Tabatha Briones said.

Greencastle rallied in the top of the sixth. An error, a walk and an infield single loaded the bases, then Brittany Ricketts hit a two-run single to right and another Eagle error led to Greencastle taking a 6-5 lead. The lead didn’t last, though.

The Eagles tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Alex Steffy singled to center to score a run and the game came down to the final inning.

The Eagles left seven runners on base in the first six innings and according to both coaches, Greencastle’s solid defense was a big reason.

“We made a lot of plays defensively, we were solid,” Briones said.

“They (Greencastle) have two of the best fielders around. Their shortstop (McKenzie Woodall) and third baseman (Layna Robinson) are really good,” Steffy said.

South was able hold the Cubs scoreless in the top of the seventh to set the stage for an exciting finish. Egold led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple, Jaylen Hughbanks reached on an infield single. Mahoney-Sutherland hit a ball to second base that wasn’t handled cleanly and Egold was able to score to set the final score at 7-6.

“When we play Greencastle, you know we are going to have a good game,” Steffy said. “I told the girls that the play by Jaylen not getting tagged at second is one that won’t go in the scorebook, but it allowed us to score.”

Greencastle will travel to Rockville on Thursday, while the Eagles will travel to Riverton Parke on the same day.

Greencastle 300 003 0 — 6

South Putnam 410 001 1 — 7

WP — Egold, LP — Clark. 2B — A. Steffy (SP), G. Carr (SP). 3B — Egold (SP)