BY R.J. GOODE

For the Sports Department

Ritchie County 10, Magnolia 0

The Ritchie County Lady Rebels scored a majority of their runs with two outs and took advantage of six Lady Eagle defensive miscues, as they defeated Magnolia 10-0 in the opener of the Magnolia softball tournament at Hydro field April 12.

With two outs in the top of the first, the Rebels laced a ball to the outfield in what looked to be a single. However, the Eagles’ centerfielder misplayed the ball and it morphed into an inside-the-park homerun. After the next Ritchie batter reached on error, the Rebels belted a ball over the fence.

The Lady Eagles got out of the inning with no more damage, but were still down 3-0. In the bottom of the first, sophomore shortstop Abby Durig laced the first pitch she saw for a single. Mallory Chapman followed that up with a single of her own and Audrey Gibb then singled.

Durig was being waved home, but she returned to third as the throw went to home plate. Chapman didn’t notice that and was put out trying to take third for the first out of the inning. The next two batters struck out to end the inning, leaving Durig and Gibb stranded.

Chapman and the Lady Eagles held the Rebels in check until they put up five more runs in the fourth, two more in the fifth, and went on to win the game 10-0 in five innings.

During the game, the Lady Eagles scattered six hits, all of which came from the top three batters in the order. Durig had three singles, Chapman singled twice, and Gibb singled once and walked once. Kacie Hilpert and Stephanie Mullet each walked twice, while Katie Blatt walked once. Chapman took the loss from the mound as she struck out seven and walked one in five innings of work.

Magnolia 7, Point Pleasant 3

Magnolia fell behind 3-1 after the first inning, but battled back to defeat Class-AAA power Point Pleasant 7-3 on April 13 at Hydro field.

In the top of the first, Hilpert drove in Gibb to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, the Blacks scored three runs on two Blue Eagle errors to make it 3-1 Big Blacks after one.

Magnolia struck again with a run in the top of the third and cut the deficit to 3-2. Then the Eagles were assisted by a pair of Point miscues in the field that led to four runs to give the Eagles the lead for good at 6-3 after four innings.

Then came the top of the seventh, when Chapman belted a solo homerun over the right field fence to finish the scoring, 7-3 Eagles.

The Eagles were lead by Chapman with a homerun and Gibb with two singles and two RBIs. The Eagles also drew four walks in the game, scattered six hits, and committed four errors. Chapman got the win from the mound, giving up four hits, one walk, and striking out five Point batters in a complete game.

Magnolia 14, Trinity 2

Magnolia junior Erin Clegg got her first varsity start on the mound April 13 and picked up the win as the Eagles defeated the Trinity Christian Lady Warriors 14-2 in three innings of work. Offensively, Clegg added a pair of singles.

Durig singled to start the game and came around to score on a Chapman single. Gibb reached on a fielder’s choice that put Chapman out at second. Gibb later scored when Hilpert reached on a throwing error by the Warriors. Hilpert was then put out going to second when Clegg reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Darianne Crosasmun. In the bottom of the first, the Warriors were put out in order, with Clegg recording one strike out.

In the top of the second, the Eagles exploded for eight runs that featured singles from Clegg and Blatt, who singled twice. Hilpert and Mullett hit doubles, while Durig added a triple and a single. Clegg struck out the side in the bottom of the second.

To start the third frame, Allison Ritz reached on an error and Carissa Durant walked with one out. Clegg reached on an error that scored Ritz, whereupon Mullett singled home Durant. Jordan Grimm singled as Blatt then ground out to bring home Clegg. With Magnolia up 14-0, the Warriors scored twice in the home half of the third. However, the game was called on the run-ahead rule, 12 runs after after three innings.

For the game, MHS collected 15 hits that were led by Durig, who had a triple and two singles. Chapman, Mullett, and Clegg all had multi-hits with two singles each, with Chapman and Mullett each adding two RBIs.

Magnolia 3, Cameron 2

The Magnolia Lady Blue Eagles scored three runs in the last two innings for a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Cameron Lady Dragons April 11 at Hydro Field.

Nether team scored in the first frame. Then, in the top of the second, the Dragons got a pair of runs to go up 2-0. The Eagles got a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 2-1. Then, in the bottom of the seventh – after the Eagles had already tied the game at 2-2 – Katie Blatt scored on an Eagle base hit to win the game.

Chapman led the way for the Eagles with a double and three singles. She also got the win from the mound in the one-hitter, striking out seven and walking zero. The Eagles committed three errors in the game while the Dragons had four.

St. John 1, Magnolia 0

The Bellaire St. John Fighting Irish scored the lone run in the top of the third in an April 10 defeat of the Lady Eagles at New Martinsville’s Hydro Field.

The St. John pitcher struck out 16 and walked three in the game, while allowing only one hit. Chapman was the hard luck loser, striking out six, walking none, and allowing five hits. The Eagles committed three errors compared to none for the Irish.

Magnolia 12, Tyler 0

Magnolia 9, Tyler 1

The Lady Eagles swept Tyler Consolidated in a double-header April 15 in Kidwell by the score of 12-0 in game one, and 9-1 in the nightcap.

Mallory Chapman doubled and went yard from the plate in game one, while tossing a mercy-rule shortened one-hitter, wiffing four, and walking none to lead Magnolia.

Abby Durig, Erinn Clegg, and Audrey Gibb each smacked a pair of singles in the opener, while Durig, Gibb, and Chapman added multi hits in game two as well.

Clegg was the winning pitcher. She struck out six and walked three, while tossing a two-hitter.

The Eagles will play Steubenville Catholic tonight at the New Martinsville Hydro Field at 5 p.m. Tomorrow, they will travel across the river to Sardis to take on the Lady Pilots, also at 5 p.m.