By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – In a Mudsock competition, anything can happen and it usually does.
Since the Mudsock softball game at Hamilton Southeastern Tuesday went to extra innings, many things happened. It took nine innings to decide a winner, and that was Fishers, as the Tigers scored in the top of the ninth to edge out the Royals 6-5 and claim the Mudsock trophy.
Hannah Trueblood drove in Fishers’ winning run with one out and the bases loaded. Trueblood grounded into a fielder’s choice that was enough to send Sophie Schoch in to score; Trueblood also made it safely to first to keep the bases loaded.
Southeastern’s Tessa Sexauer made a double play to end the inning; she caught a line drive, then tossed it to Payton Fox at third base for the third our. But the Tigers retired the Royals 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. Kate Murray finished the game with a strikeout.
“It’s always a grind,” said Fishers coach Daren James. “Every time we play them, it’s always close, no matter who’s going what direction as far as wins and losses, this is always a close game.”
The Royals scored the game’s first runs, getting two across in the bottom of the first inning. Sage Ladig doubled in Lani Wyrick, then Maddie Bucher (running for Ladig) scored when Fox reached on error.
The Tigers tied the game in the top of the third. Kaylee Kardash led off with a double, then later scored when Murray hit a sacrifice fly. Trueblood scored the tying run, and it was now 2-2.
Southeastern got the lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Jenna Chase doubled in Taylor Larson, then Fox’s double sent Chase home.
A run in the fourth inning gave the Royals a 5-2 lead. Wyrick’s sacrifice fly sent Reece Garland home. The Tigers answered in the top of the fifth when Trueblood hit a sacrifice fly to score Abby Gavin.
Fishers again tied the game in the sixth inning. Schoch hit a single to send Trueblood home, then Nyah Duplessis scored on a passed ball.
“We played a couple of games last week, our energy level just wasn’t really there,” said James. “We’ve been talking a lot about it this week, about bringing the energy. There’s always a lot of energy in this game anyway, so I think they probably a little extra amped up tonight.”
Schoch finished the game with three hits. Murray pitched seven innings for the win, striking out 10.
“We battled for nine innings,” said HSE coach David Cook. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Emma Vance was 3-for-4 for Southeastern, while Alex Kiemeyer was 2-for-2. Ladig pitched the entire game, with four strikeouts.
“We got to correct a few little mistakes,” said Cook. “We’re close. We’re right there.”
Fishers is 4-8 and will host Mount Vernon Thursday. Southeastern is 6-0 and plays tonight at Kokomo.
FISHERS 6, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 5
(9 innings)
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Lani Wyrick 3 1 0 1
Taylor Larson 3 1 1 0
Jenna Chase 4 1 1 1
Sage Ladig 5 0 1 1
Maddie Bucher 0 1 0 0
Payton Fox 5 0 1 1
Morgan Hicks 5 0 1 0
Madi Yankauskas 0 0 0 0
Paige Gould 2 0 0 0
Alex Kiemeyer 2 0 2 0
Stephanie Penny 1 0 0 0
Reece Garland 4 1 1 0
Emma Vance 4 0 3 0
Totals 38 5 11 3
3B: Garland. 2B: Ladig, Vance, Fox, Chase. SB: Wyrick. SAC: Wyrick. HBP: Wyrick.
HSE pitching IP R ER H
Ladig 9 6 5 8
Strikeouts: Ladig 4. Walks: Ladig 2.
Fishers AB R H RBI
Sophie Schoch 5 1 3 1
Abby Gavin 3 1 1 0
Kaylee Kardash 4 1 1 0
Hannah Abbott 3 0 1 0
Hannah Trueblood 4 1 0 2
Kate Murray 3 0 1 1
Karyn Trice 4 0 1 1
Ashtin Grubb 4 0 0 0
Sydney Abel 3 0 0 0
Nyah Duplessis 0 1 0 0
Totals 33 5 8 5
2B: Kardash. SB: Gavin, Trueblood. SAC: Murray. HBP: Murray, Abbott, Duplessis, Gavin, Trueblood.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
Kamara Walker 2 4 3 4
Murray (W) 7 1 1 7
Strikeouts: Murray 10, Walker 5. Walks: Murray 3.
Score by Innings
Fishers 002 012 001 – 6 8 1
Southeastern 202 100 000 – 5 11 1