Lady Tigers beat Monett, extend win streak to seven

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Wrapping their regular-season on a high-note, the Nevada Lady Tiger softball team downed the Monett Cubs, 7-3 on Monday.

The Big 8 Conference West division road-victory upped Nevada's record to 13-8 (7-3 Big 8 West) while extending their win streak to seven games.

The Lady Tigers struck first, plating a pair of run in the first. Nevada quickly increased their advantage to 6-0, after exploding for four in the second.

Monett trimmed the advantage in half, plating two in the fourth, and a run in the fifth, and trailed 6-3.

The Lady Tigers then tacked on a run in the seventh, accounting for the final margin.

"We played really well tonight, which was a really nice way to end the regular-season," said Nevada head coach Danny Penn. "We came out sharp in the top of the first, with our first four hitters all getting solid base-hits. We were threatening for more, but had to settle for two in the first. Abby (Harder) got us a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, and we picked up where we left off offensively — scoring four more in the second."

Added Penn: "I thought we had really good at- bats, didn't try to do too much."

For the Lady Tigers, senior leadoff hitter Maggie Leisure had a monster day at the dish, going 4-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI.

"Maggie continues to do a really nice job in the leadoff spot for us," Penn noted. "I think her batting average has jumped over 100 points since we made that change. She puts together good ABs, works counts well, and has gotten a number of two-strike hits."

Nevada's formidable one-two punch at the top of the lineup also includes two-hole hitter Bailey Ast. Against Monett, Ast went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI. "Bailey, in the two-spot, has also really thrived at the top of our lineup," Penn said. "Those two were great table-setters today for the middle of our lineup, who did their job."

In the circle for Nevada Harder notched the pitching victory — striking out four and walking none, while yielding three runs (one earned) over five frames of work.

Leisure, meanwhile, had a dominant turn in relief, striking out three and walking none, while allowing one hit over the final two innings of play.

"Abby was aggressive in the circle tonight, mowing through their lineup for the first three innings," Penn recalled. "They started sitting on her outside fastball, which is something she recognized. We started really busting them inside, which led to a lot of ground outs. Abby was really in control, and threw five high-quality innings."

Penn continued: "Maggie came in for the two-inning save, and picked up right were Abby left off. Maggie was throwing as hard tonight as I've seen her throw all season. She was moving up-and-down in the strike zone really well. I think those two were as sharp as could be going into the district tournament on Thursday."

The top-seeded Lady Tigers open play in the Class 3 District 13 tournament, 5 p.m. Thursday in Pleasant Hill. Nevada awaits the winner of the No. 4 Harrisonville vs. No. 5 Clinton matchup on Wednesday.

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