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Lady Tigers softball blanks Clinton, 8-0
By Eric Wade
Nevada Daily Mail
"Nice Job, very pleased with how the girls played tonight." Nevada Lady Tigers head softball coach Tammy Holcomb had nothing but good things to say after Wednesday's contest at Bushwhacker Field and with good reason. Just about everything came together for the Lady Tigers and they took full advantage, plating six runs in the sixth inning to break open the game and take down the Lady Cardinals of Clinton by the final score of 8-0.
Senior Christian Novak had yet another very strong day for the Lady Tigers, both in the pitching circle and with the bat. She ultimately finished 4-for-4 at the plate and knocked in the first two runs of the day for the Lady Tigers on what turned out to be a nearly ideal day to play in terms of the weather.
The only obstacle Mother Nature presented affected both sides equally. A stiff breeze was blowing across the field throughout the game, but it didn't really have a significant impact on how the game played out for either side.
The Lady Tigers got things started early as Cheyenne Brewer led off the game for Nevada with a ground ball that skirted its way through the infield for a single. Just two batters later, Novak helped her own cause, knocking a line drive over the infield for a single that brought in Brewer to draw first blood.
That was all the Lady Tigers would need to pick up the victory, but it wasn't nearly all they got.
Though Clinton starter Chelsea Thornley held the Lady Tigers to just three hits in the first three innings, Novak and the rest of the Lady Tigers lineup were easily able to see through her attack and adjust quickly. Novak showed emphatically just how well the Lady Tigers were able to adjust when she took a swing at the first pitch Thornley threw in the home half of the fourth, sending the ball sailing quickly over the fence in left center to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead.
"We were hitting Tuesday at the barn and she made the comment that she didn't think she would ever hit one. Crazy world," Novak's father, Jim, said.
The flood gates opened up on Clinton in the sixth inning as Nevada sent 10 hitters to the plate in the frame and broke the game wide open with six runs on six hits. The inning got started with two consecutive hits from Madeline Culbertson and Ashley Shumaker and Thornley's only hit batter of the day and the Lady Tigers ultimately wasted little time recognizing and feeding off of the momentum swing with RBIs from Victoria Culbertson, Mackenzie Pritchett, Carsten Warner and Tayten Starlin in the frame.
"The girls did a nice job making the adjustment and putting the ball in play," Holcomb said.
Thornley finished the game allowing eight runs -- all earned -- on 14 hits with three strikeouts, one wild pitch and a hit batter. Novak finished in much stronger fashion as she finished with 13 strikeouts to bring her career total to 709, while allowing just two hits with one hit batter in a shutout effort.
"Christian did a nice job," Holcomb said. "We've talked a lot about just listening to the coaches, she did that. She did a nice job doing what we asked her to do."
The Lady Tigers are scheduled to complete what has been one of their busier weeks of action today, when they return to Bushwhacker Field to take on a relative unknown in the Lady Tigers of Skyline High School in Urbana, Mo. Holcomb said she didn't know much about the Skyline team, but that didn't seem to be much of a cause for concern.
"We just come out with the same attitude every day that we want to stay focused, do our job and see how that goes," she said.
First pitch in that contest is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.