By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

ARCANUM — It was a 10-1 game heading into the bottom of the fourth innings as the Lady Trojans softball team went up to bat down nine runs to Versailles High School. Arcanum held strong and scored 12 runs in the remaining three and a half innings to send the game into extra innings tied at 13-13.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Lady Trojans scored the game-winning run with two outs to seal the 14-13 comeback win over the Lady Tigers on March 27 at home.

Head coach Mike Morris said it has taken the team a few innings to get the bats going to start the season. But, he is still proud of the way his team fought to get back into the game and win.

“They didn’t quit. We made some mistakes on the bases that I thought was going to kill us. The girls came up and hit. Everybody participated,” Morris said.

Versailles started off the game scoring five runs in the opening frame. The big hit of the inning was a two-run extra base hit by Jenna Dirksen.

In the second inning, Lydia Hecht hit a two-run home run to give Versailles a 7-1 lead after the second inning.

Head coach Mark Voisard said his hitters had the right approach at the plate in the game. He also said the top of the order did most of the damage and would like to see some more things from the bottom of the lineup.

“I was pleased with how well they attacked the pitcher tonight. They all were patient and hit the ball hard. Some of them just got to be a little more patient,” Voisard said.

Then the Lady Trojans started to put some pressure on the Lady Tigers. After the fourth inning, Versailles was up 10-5. The Lady Tigers tallied two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, but the Lady Trojans countered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Versailles scored one more run to go up 13-10 as the team headed into the bottom of the seventh. The Trojans continued their momentum from the sixth inning and tied the game up with a three-run rally to send the game to extra innings.

Arcanum limited Versailles to three runs in the final four innings. Junior Hannah Kendig started the game and came back in to get the win. Morris said Kendig has shown the ability to bounce back from a rough start and throw well once she re-enters a game.

There still is a lot of good things the Lady Tigers can take away from this game. Voisard said he is not worried about the team and believes they will not let this loss linger.

“A lot of first, a lot of goods things came out of it. (There are) very few minor things. The girls talked amongst themselves, they know what they got to do. Basically, move on from there and get ready for the next game,” Voisard said.

Morris said he would like to see the team get off to a better start to games, but is thrilled to see the team at least be able to perserve through rough starts and keep themselves in games.

It was a great game for both teams and coaches. Morris said it’s always a great time to go up against a coach like Voisard, no matter what’s going on during the game.

“We just got to get it done the first few innings. We can’t be waiting and waiting. I’m proud of them, it’s good to be 2-1. Great team, great coaches. If you’re going to win or lose a game, I like to do it with somebody like their (Versailles) coach,” Morris said.

For Arcanum, senior Paige Burrell led the team with four RBI. Seniors Mollie Ericksen and Brooklyn Ullery and junior Haley Smith each had two RBI. Junior Belle Harleman pitched a total of 4.2 innings while Kendig pitched 3.1 innings.

For Versailles, Colleen Hiestand started and ended the game on the mound.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]