Missy Smith didn’t see the cleanest game by her Herbert Hoover softball team on Thursday, but she did see the Huskies string together 10 hits to come away with a 6-2 win over visiting Riverside.
Hoover (18-5) overcame five errors to hold the Warriors (16-9) to two runs on five hits. Smith, the coach for the Huskies, focused on the pitching of Hannah Shamblin and the defensive plays Hoover did make as positives.
“She didn’t have a ton of strikeouts, but we didn’t need her to,†Smith said of Shamblin. “She was hitting her spots pretty well and the defense made big plays when they had to, to try to keep runners off base early in the inning, and it makes it easier when they get a hit with two outs. You can breathe a little bit.â€
Smith said the Huskies did a good job of getting runners aboard and getting bunts down that translated into runs. All 10 of Hoover’s hits were singles.
Defensively, three of Hoover’s five errors came on one play in the second inning, and the Huskies still managed to keep Riverside off the scoreboard until the fourth inning.
Shamblin had a lot to do with that. She allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out three.
“We put bats on the ball,†Riverside coach Michael Dickerson said. “Their defense is great. Their shortstop [Sadie Wehrle] made several good plays. Their reputation precedes them.â€
Hoover put Riverside behind with a two-run single by Kyleigh Elmore in the first inning that scored Shamblin and Wehrle.
An RBI groundout by Jayley Carper scored Emma Hanson in the fourth. The next batter, Ayva Veltri, drove in Bella Haas to make it a 4-1 game.
Hanson drove in Katelyn Board and Taylor Jones in the fifth with a single to set the final score at 6-2.
Keelee Harrison’s ground ball to third base in the second inning led to three errors, allowing the Warriors’ third baseman to make it to third. But with two outs in the inning, Riverside failed to get her home.
The Warriors loaded the bases in the next inning with two outs but again failed to get a run home.
A leadoff double by McKinley Clark to start the fourth inning led to a run that cut the Hoover lead to 2-1. Harrison bunted Clark to third. Kaitlyn Johnson’s groundout drove Clark home.
Johnson hit an RBI single in the sixth that scored Clark again. Johnson hit a hard line drive off Shamblin into the right-field gap, but Johnson was thrown out by Haas trying for second to end the inning.
Shaylea Blackhurst and Lexi Osborne pitched for Riverside in the game. Blackhurst allowed eight hits and six runs with five earned. Osborne relieved Blackburn in the sixth and allowed two hits.
RIVERSIDE 000 101 0 — 2 5 2
HERBERT HOOVER 200 220 x — 6 10 5
Blackhurst, Osborne (6) and Mullins; Shamblin and Turner.
Hitting: (R) Clark 1-3, 2B; Smith 1-4, 2B; Johnson 1-3, 2 RBI; Smith 1-3, 2B. (HH) Elmore 1-2, 2 RBI; Hanson 1-3, 2 RBI; Veltri 3-4, RBI.
Rick Elmore covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-5122 or relmore@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ElmoreSports on Twitter/X.
