St. Clair’s offense has been on a tear to start the 2012 softball season.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-0) have scored a total of 47 runs in wins over Wright City, Montgomery County and Potosi.
The latest outburst came Wednesday in an 18-9 home victory over Potosi.
St. Clair trailed 9-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, but exploded for 18 runs over the next two innings.
The Lady Bulldogs scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and 14 runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Nine of the 14 runs in the sixth inning were scored with two outs.
“Potosi played a solid first five innings. They were making the plays and doing everything that needed to be done to win the game,” said St. Clair Head Coach Rob Hauck. “Our team had the chance to give up and just say it was over, but we hung in there and continued to battle back. Softball is so much about momentum and when we made the game 9-4 in the fifth inning, we started to swing the momentum in our favor.”
All nine of St. Clair’s batters went to the plate twice during the sixth inning.
“After Tori (Martin) shut them down in the top of the sixth inning, our girls started to really feel they could come back,” Hauck said. “The bottom of the sixth inning was really remarkable. It says something about our girls’ effort.”
St. Clair collected 22 hits in the game.
Leading the way was Karissa Hoffman, who was 5-5 at the plate with three singles, one double, one triple, four RBIs and one run.
“Karissa did a remarkable job, both in the field and at the plate. She didn’t force anything and took what Potosi gave her,” Hauck said. “She was very patient at the plate, put the ball in play and found some gaps. She was a huge spark for us offensively.”
Nicole Nardi was 3-5 with one single, two triples, five RBIs, four runs and two stolen bases.
Anna Reed was 3-5 with two singles, one double, three RBIs and two runs.
Bri Branscum and Kayla Stevenson both were 2-3.
Marissa Laubinger (two doubles) and Sarah Hinson both were 2-4.
Tori Martin was 2-5 with two doubles. Alicia York added one hit.
Reed was the starting pitcher for St. Clair in a no-decision. In three innings, she allowed seven runs, four earned, with four walks and three strikeouts.
Martin tossed the final four frames to earn the win. She allowed two unearned runs on one hit with three hit batters and two strikeouts.
“Even though our back was against the wall, we didn’t quit and continued to fight. I am very proud of the girls and how they battled back,” Hauck said. “Our whole mind set was different in our last at-bats. I believe we will use that to better ourselves for the rest of the season.”
