Caleb Riordan | Ameritime Sports Writer
The Cape Central Tigers went 2-2 over the weekend with wins against Festus and St. Dominic.
Cape had a busy weekend that started with two games Friday. The first was against Seckman.
This was far from the Tigers’ best showing. Seckmans’ bats came alive early and they jumped out to a double digit lead in the first inning. They scored four runs before recording an out and pushed across seven more in the inning. They led 11-0 after one.
Seckman added another run in the second and five more in the fourth. Cape was never able to score and only recorded two hits. The game ended 17-0.
Valerie Greenley started the game in the circle and struggled from the beginning. She allowed 11 runs, only six earned, on 40 pitches. Elizabeth Turk came in to relieve Greenley and she struggled as well. She allowed six runs on 110 pitches.
Cape looked to bounce back from the blowout in their second game of the day against Festus.
This time, they got their bats going early. Kayleigh Turk hit an RBI-single for the first run of the game. They scored on an error shortly after then Elizabeth Turk singled in Kayleigh. The Tigers led 3-0 after the first.
Brooke Witvoet singled in Alexis Trickey in the second inning to make it a 4-0 game. Festus began to fight back and scored a run in the second and third innings to cut Cape’s lead in half.
Cape was able to hold off Festus for the rest of the game and even added a run for insurance in the fifth inning. They won 5-2.
Elizabeth Turk was 3-3 at the plate, scored a run and had one RBI. Kayleigh Turk was 2-3, scored one run and had an RBI. Keri Williams was the only pitcher to make an appearance for Cape. She threw 94 pitches, allowing five hits and two runs through five innings.
Cape started their afternoon Saturday against St. Dominic.
The first run of the game came off the bat of Kayleigh Turk on a sacrifice fly to give Cape an early 1-0 lead.
St. Dominic answered back in the third inning when they scored two runs on a double to center field. They took the lead, 2-1.
Cape grabbed the momentum right back in the fourth inning. Lauren Hamby hit a double to left field that scored two runs. Hamby later scored on an error by the third baseman to go up 4-2.
Cape wasn’t done adding to their lead. In the fifth, it was Hamby again that hit an RBI-single. Then Karissa Robinson hit a single to left field that scored another run. Cape held off St. Dominic for the rest of the game and won 6-2.
Williams, Ki Bogan and Hamby all had two hits in the game. Bogan scored two runs and Hamby had three RBIs.
Williams had a rock solid performance on the mound. She threw 103 pitches through six innings, allowed two runs and struck out six.
Cape ended the Weekend in an eventful contest against Fort Zumwalt West. There were 27 combined runs scored in the game.
Fort Zumwalt did a ton of damage early. They scored 12 runs in the first and one in the second to take a whopping 13-0 lead going into the third inning.
Cape finally got going in the third when Witvoet drew a walk that scored a run. The next at bat, Williams was hit by a pitch that forced in another run. Later in the inning, Catie Davis was able to score on a passed ball. Fort Zumwalt led 13-3.
Cape kept fighting. Kayleigh Turk was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning that pushed across a run. Walks were the story of the night for Cape. Elizabeth Turk, Bogan and Witvoet all drew walks in the inning that resulted in a run scored. Greenley smashed a homerun in the inning as well. They left the fourth trailing 13-11.
The eight-run fourth inning wasn’t enough for Cape. Fort Zumwalt added three more runs to make it 16-11. Cape was unable to recover.
Greenley finished the game with four RBIs. Witvoet had two of her own and also drew three walks.
Elizabeth Turk threw 48 pitches and allowed 12 runs on eight hits. Greenley came in to relieve Turk. She threw 47 pitches and allowed four runs.
The 2-2 weekend for Cape brings their record to 5-5. While there is room to improve, Cape is pleased with the positives so far.
“I think it has gone good so far,” Witvoet said about the season. “Better than what is has been in the past. Our offense has been pretty spot on but our defense needs some work, but I think we all can agree on that and we are willing to put in the work to fix it.”
Cape will look to keep the bats hot and carry their record over the .500 mark Tuesday, Sep. 15 against Sikeston.
