Any time the Winfield Generals and Herbert Hoover Huskies take the softball field, it’s going to be a battle.
Both programs have historically been two of the dominant teams in their class, with the last seven Class AA state titles being claimed by the two.
However, when the two met on Tuesday, it was all Winfield. The Generals defense was potent and slammed the door in the Huskies’ face numerous times throughout Tuesday’s contest in a 4-0 win at Herbert Hoover High School.
Winfield’s Mattie Carroll got the nod in the circle and was dominant from the jump. Carroll struck out five batters and allowed two hits and one walkover seven shutout innings.
The Generals pitcher also retired the last 19 batters after allowing two hits in the first inning.
“Mattie’s been consistent and good all year,†Winfield coach Steve Hensley said. “She’s always going to give us a chance to win a game. The biggest difference tonight was we were able to get her a lead. The last couple of games that she started, we had been behind a little bit or struggled to get the ball in play. I think playing out in front tonight let her settle in and take off.â€
The win moves Winfield to 16-6 on the season, while Herbert Hoover falls to 14-4.
The Huskies’ bats struggled to stay warm after getting three runners on base in the bottom half of the first inning.
After that, Hoover didn’t get another runner on base.
“Offensively, we struggled,†Hoover coach Missy Smith said. “Mattie did a good job of working the edge of the zone and changing the line. We could not barrel up a ball. Then, we had a lot of popups and fly balls, which allowed them to get under, instead of us hitting the ball hard like we normally do. We had the bases loaded there in the first and didn’t score.
“Winfield’s a good team. You have to take every opportunity to get runners on, and we didn’t do a good job of that.â€
Smith understands that not getting the runners home, especially in a bases-loaded scenario, can be deflating.
However, she wants Hoover to try and figure out ways to improve, rather than dwell on what went wrong on Tuesday.
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“We try to not look at it in a deflating way that early in the game,†Smith said. “We try to look at it in a way that we had the bases loaded early. That means we’re getting the bat on the ball, moving runners and trying to build on that momentum, but we just weren’t able to do that today.â€
The Generals made good contact on the ball, posting nine hits, with eight of the nine coming in the first four innings.
Six players recorded hits in the shutout victory on Tuesday for Winfield.
Hensley was pleased with how Winfield pressured Hoover pitcher Hannah Shamblin.
Shamblin pitched all seven innings, allowing nine hits while striking out one batter.
“We’re athletic,†Hensley said. “We have some girls that can run. We’re probably not as big of a gap-to-gap team as we’ve been in the past. So, it’s a very overall athletic team. We’ve got to try and understand that’s our strength. We have to hit ground balls, line drives and put the ball in play; that way we can use our speed and athleticism. The more often we can do that against a good pitcher in the circle, then we’re going to have a good chance to win.â€
Carroll got the bats hot early, connecting on a shot into the left-center gap for a double and scoring Evie Loyd from second base for a 1-0 Generals lead.
Rylee McClellan knocked Loyd in in the third inning, increasing the Winfield lead to 2-0.
The Generals doubled up their scoring in the bottom of the fourth, with Ava Cole and Maddy Taylor each posting RBIs. Kenlie Zigmond scored on the Cole double and Cole rushed home on Taylor’s single.
WINFIELD 101 200 0 — 4 9 0
HERBERT HOOVER 000 000 0 — 0 2 1
Carroll and McClellan; Shamblin and Turner. Hitting leaders: (W) Loyd 2-4, 2 2B, 2 runs; Zigmond 2-3, 2B. (HH) Veltri 1-3.
