NHS softball held without a win on first day of Joplin Invitational

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Three up, three down.

That's how plenty of innings go in softball — but unfortunately for Nevada High School, that's how the team's entire Friday went at the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Invitational in Joplin.

"No doubt today was a tough day at the park," stated NHS head coach Danny Penn, whose squad lost 7-2 to Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), 13-6 to Park Hill South, and 11-2 to Carthage. "I told them after our third game, 'Some days it just seems nothing is going your way. It really stinks when you have three games on one of those days. But we have an opportunity to win two games tomorrow and start to right the ship.' That's our goal and what we hope to accomplish."

Despite the losses, the Lady Tigers (4-6) had several positives to carry them into the weekend.

Against Broken Arrow, senior Claire Pritchett slugged her second home run of the season. Then, against Park Hill South, sophomore Hope Hearting hit her first dinger. Penn added that junior Kirstin Buck pitched much better in the circle than some of the final scores would indicate.

"We are a better team than we showed today," stated Penn, who identified pre-pitch defensive responsibilities and avoiding called third strikes with runners on base as areas for improvement. "We're still learning that good teams take advantage of small mistakes and extra outs."

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