By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Hayden and Topeka High left Friday's Centennial League softball twinbill with a victory, with the Wildcats taking an opening 5-1 win and Topeka High securing the nightcap with a 7-4 victory at Hummer Sports Park.
Hayden senior Alyssa Droge turned in a complete-game pitching win in Friday's 5-1 first-game victory over Topeka High. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Hayden's Alyssa Droge hit a solo home run in the Wildcats' 5-1 Game 1 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Trojans and Wildcats facing different challenges this spring. But luckily both Centennial League squads saw some bright spots from their teams on Friday
In Hayden’s 5-1 first-game victory, senior pitcher Alyssa Droge had an enormous game that helped lead the Wildcats to victory. Droge earned the win in the circle tossing seven complete innings while punching out eight batters and giving up just one run on six hits.
Droge also went 2-2 at the plate, including a solo home run launched over centerfield to break a scoreless tie in the top of the third.
“Alyssa is amazing,” Hayden coach Cody Reynolds said. “I’m not sure where she is at in terms of strikeouts in the city, but she has to be close to the top. She’s been on fire for us. I’ve been really happy with the way that she’s played this year. Overall, I was glad with the amount of runs that we put up tonight.”
Hayden’s challenges stem from carrying over solid offense from one win to the next and struggling to maintain a rhythm. While the defense has been solid, it was good for Reynolds to see the offense hit the ball well against Topeka High.
“We’ve had a really good defense all season long, but our offense struggles at times,” Reynolds said. “If you look at the games we had against Rossville, we won the first game 8-1 but turned around and got skunked nothing to eight.
“I thought the same thing would happen in the second game. We were about to practice Saturday and Sunday, but our offense put up some runs late in the second game.”
Droge’s solo home run would be the only run Hayden picked up until the fifth inning, while Topeka High was blanked.
Topeka High sophomore pitcher Jo'Mhara Benning returned from an injury to turned in a solid performance for the Trojans against Hayden Friday. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
While Droge was pitching a gem, sophomore Jo’Mhara Benning was pitching well, too. Benning hasn’t pitched in a month and a half due to injury but returned with a bang. Benning fanned six Hayden batters while getting out of a few jams that could’ve blown the game open in favor of the Wildcats.
“Jo did a good job throwing five innings despite not throwing for a month and a half,” Miles said. “It was nice to see Jo out there and competing well. She did a great job for us tonight pitching in the first game.”
In the fifth inning of Game 1, Hayden added a pair of runs to break the game slightly open to 3-0. Sophomore Keira Carswell scored off of a Topeka High wild pitch, while another run was added from a sacrifice fly by Carswell.
The Wildcats added another run at the top of the sixth to make a Topeka High rally daunting. A single from junior Rachel Burroughs turned into a three-bagger after a Trojan error. Junior Ava Delgado would bring Burroughs in at the next at-bat with a 1-run single to bump Hayden’s lead to 4-0.
“Hayden is a good team with a great pitcher (Droge),” Topeka High coach Shane Miles said. “We had our chances and opportunities there, but we just couldn’t get that key hit in the first game.”
The Trojans would finally get a key hit. Topeka High got on the board with an RBI double from Benning, scoring senior Illinois signee Adisyn Caryl. Benning’s 1-run double decreased its deficit to 4-1.
Hayden added its last run in the first game in the top of the seventh from a 1-run single by junior Haley Cummings. That gave the Wildcats a 5-1 edge and the win with its defense keeping the Trojans off the board in the seventh.
“All year long, I just challenge us to get better every single game,” Reynolds said. “I try not to talk about what other teams do well; I talk about us. We take things day by day. Each day in practice, we just try and get better.”
Topeka High smiled slightly more in the second game as the Trojans got the scoring off to a fast start.
Topeka High scored three runs in the bottom part of the first inning of Game 2. Benning and Kansas City Kansas Community College commit Alesia Alvarez hit back-to-back RBI doubles. Sophomore Montgomerie Freel finished the scoring with a groundout to the second baseman, scoring in the final run of the opening inning.
“We know what we are going to get out of them,” Miles said. “With Alesia, she’s a bulldog behind the plate, and when she’s up to hit, she will always take a hack at it. It’s just a matter of if it’s good contact or great contact.”
In addition to the groundout RBI from the first inning, Freel added another RBI with a double in the bottom of the third inning to give Topeka High a 4-0 advantage.
The Topeka High offensive attack segued into the fourth inning. Benning would hit her second double of the contest while bringing in two runners. Benning would advance to third thanks to a hit from Alvarez. Benning would score on a wild pitch later in the inning.
With Benning accounting for all three runs in the fourth, Topeka High had a comfortable 7-0 lead.
Helping keep the Wildcats off of the board was junior pitcher Hailey Scheaffer. With the Trojans dealing with injuries and depth issues within its pitching rotation, Scheaffer’s solid junior varsity experience from this year was needed for varsity innings.
For the first five innings, Scheaffer kept Hayden scoreless while allowing a pair of hits and a walk. It was a stellar performance for the junior against a city rival.
“Hailey Scheaffer came in and did a good job tonight,” Miles said. “She started with the JV for us. We’ve been down some pitchers, so we’re asking a lot out of her. But we’ve seen some bright spots in her. She threw five shutout innings against a pretty good Hayden team.”
Hayden put on its rally caps in the sixth inning with an outburst of four runs.The Wildcats gained momentum with three straight doubles from freshman Lydia Dennis, senior Maylee Burris and an RBI from Delgado. Carswell would bring in a run off of a 1-run single, and two more runners would score off of wild pitches.
“We actually had a lot better at-bats in this game than we did the first game, I believe,” Reynolds said. “The scoreboard may not show it, but we were picking out pitches much better. So we got better today, and we get better every game.”
Topeka High couldn’t add any insurance runs in the sixth inning, so they would have to stop the Wildcats from adding to its momentum boost.
Benning would re-enter the circle in the seventh inning. Benning allowed the bases to get loaded but was poised enough to save the day for the Trojans, closing out the 7-4 victory.
“I usually don’t coach the kids tough, and I’m usually not emotional, and at the end of the game, I told them that ‘they have to want it,’ Reynolds said. “I want it bad but can’t do it for them. So I got into them today and was a bit more animated than I have been all year long. We are getting close to regionals. I think we can go into regionals and do well.”
On Tuesday, Hayden’s next contest will be a non-league road matchup with Class 3A No. 1-ranked Silver Lake. Topeka High will also hit the road as it faces off against Centennial League school Emporia on Tuesday.
“For our girls to bounce back and get the split was nice,” Miles said. “In past games, this season, it hasn’t been that way. So this gives a little bit of confidence going into the next game next week.”
GAME ONE
HAYDEN 5, TOPEKA HIGH 1
Hayden 001 021 1 – 5 11 1
Topeka High 000 001 0 – 1 6 1
W – Droge. L – Benning. 2B – Hayden: Delgado. Topeka High: Benning. 3B – Topeka High: Johnston. HR – Hayden: Droge.
GAME TWO
TOPEKA HIGH 7, HAYDEN 4
Hayden 000 004 0 – 4 9 2
Topeka High 301 300 0 – 7 10 1
W – Scheaffer. L – Carswell. 2B – Topeka High: Benning 2, Alvarez, Freel. Hayden: Delgado, Burris, Dennis.
