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Parkway's Brittyn Bruns (3) avoids being hit by the ball while trying to slide while St. Marys catcher Ayden Young fields the ball during Tuesday's softball game at K.C. Geiger Park.
ST. MARYS - If you are into basking in the warmth and sunlight watching a defensive battle of softball, K.C. Geiger Park was absolutely not the place for you last evening.
Beneath an overcast sky with sub-40 degree wind chills, Parkway visited St. Marys and left town with a 15-11 victory in a contest that tickled the 2 ½ hour mark from the first pitch to the final pop fly.
"St. Marys is a great team with a top of the line pitcher and a very solid offense," said Parkway coach Trey Stover. "To come out and get a win on the road on opening night is big for us."
It was a battle with plenty of offensive firepower between the two squads, with the Panthers igniting their season with a triple from junior Brittyn Bruns, who later scored on an RBI by junior Emmery Temple. A couple of batters later, junior Bryn Schoenleben plated Temple to give the visitors an early 2-0 command. The Panthers added two more runs to their total in the second inning when KJae Stover drew a one-out walk followed by a single by Bruns. Both runners were knocked in a few minutes later when senior Adria Miller blooped one into the outfield and advanced to third base in the attempt to get Bruns at the plate. St. Marys responded with a run in their half of the second when junior Adyson Van De Keere drew a walk to lead things off and was soon sent home with a double by junior Ava Klosterman.
The Panthers added a run each in their half of the third and fourth, to which St. Marys responded with one run in that span, giving the Panthers a 6-2 edge heading into the fifth frame. The Roughriders managed to shut Parkway down in three batters in the top of the fifth and St. Marys sophomore Taylor Meyer opened the door to the bottom of the fifth by drawing a walk. Senior Kelly Holsinger reached on an error before a single from Cadence Hirschfeld, followed by a fielder's choice by Alexis Shadrach that pulled the home team to within one run at 6-5.
St. Marys' Alexis Shadrach flips the ball to a teammate during Tuesday's game with Parkway.
"Defensively, we definitely made big plays when we needed to, but there are certainly a few things we need to clean up defensively," Stover said. "We will continue to lean on our veterans and work on the little things, but we are super excited about this win tonight."
Having witnessed their command dwindle to one run, the Panthers flexed big time in the top of the sixth inning by batting through the lineup and jumping ahead 12-5. St. Marys responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull to within five runs at 12-7, but Stover's crew shoved right back in the top of the seventh with three more runs to move in front 15-7. Refusing to go away quietly, St. Marys plated four runs on two base hits in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as they fell by the 15-11 score.
"I was happy with the way we fought back on several occasions tonight," said St. Marys coach Kendra Solomon. "We just let ourselves get in bigger holes than we should have and gave them too many extra bases. We will learn from tonight, adjust and get better."
Leading the way for Parkway (1-0) were Brittyn Bruns and Emmery Temple with three hits apiece, while Adria Miller added a pair of base hits in the victory. For St. Marys (0-1), Kelly Holsinger notched a solid day with four base hits, while Cadence Hirschfeld and Ava Klosterman tallied two hits apiece.
Parkway is back in action on Monday at Van Wert. St. Marys makes the trip to the LeFevre Family Complex in Fort Recovery to take on the Indians on Thursday.
Parkway's Cali Bollenbacher (20) makes the catch as teammate Madelyn Stover backs up the play.
