The Seneca Royals softball team began last week by hosting Wauzeka-Steuben last Monday, May 11, looking to upset the Hornets and stay in contention for the conference championship.
The Hornets used three runs in the top of the second and one in the third to take an early 4-0 lead before the Royals got on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 4-1.
The score would remain 4-1 until the top of the fifth inning when the Hornets scored twice to make it 6-1 before adding one more run in the sixth inning. The Royals offense pushed two runs across in the bottom of the sixth inning but were unable to complete the comeback as the Hornets held on for the 7-3 win.
Brigid Hall (seven runs allowed on seven hits and one walk) took the complete game loss despite striking out 11 Hornets in the game. Seneca’s offense had six hits in the game, led by Sophia Clark (1-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI) who hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third inning. Karsyn Thoma added a double while Grace Varo, Brittany Heisz, Addison Davidson and Hall all singled in the loss.
The Royals welcomed the Royall Panthers to town the following evening and claimed an early 5-0 lead thanks to two runs in the first inning and three more in the second inning. The Panthers cut into Seneca’s lead with two runs in the third and two more in the fifth inning but were unable to complete the comeback as the Royals held on for the 5-4 win.
Lily Payne (four runs allowed on 11 hits and three walks with five strikeouts) got the complete game victory for the Royals. Seneca’s offense got multi-hit games from Varo (2-for-4 with one run scored), Davidson (2-for-3 with one walk, one run scored and one RBI), Payne (2-for-4 with one RBI) and Adeline Check (2-for-3 with a double) and a single each from Thoma and Raya Wallin.
The Royals journeyed to Stoddard two days later to face De Soto and took an early 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first and third innings. The Pirates got two runs back in the bottom of the third inning and one more in the bottom of the fourth inning before Seneca made the score 6 to 3 with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Pirates rallied past the Royals with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go up by the score of 9 to 6. Seneca would answer with a rally of their own with one run in the sixth and two in the top of the seventh inning before the Pirates scored with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning for the 10-9 walk-off win.
Hall (nine runs allowed on 11 hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched) and Payne (one run allowed on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched) each took to the pitching rubber for the Royals in the loss.
The Royals offense was led by multi-hit games from Varo (2-for-4 with two doubles and one run scored), Payne (2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI) and Clark (2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBIs). Thoma also had an extra base hit for the Royals with a RBI double in the first inning. Davidson and Wallin each had a base hit in the loss.
Seneca ended the week the next night at Wauzeka and fell to the host Hornets by the score of 4 to 2. The Hornets broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the bottom of the third inning before adding two more rus in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 4-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning. The Royals scratched two runs across in the top of seventh inning but were unable to get any closer as the Hornets held on for the 4-2 win.
Payne started in the pitcher’s circle for Seneca, allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in the loss. The Royals offense was held to six hits as a team, with Varo (2-for-3 with one walk and one RBI) being the only Royal hitter with multiple hits in the game. Hall (double), Davidson, Thoma and Check also had hits in the game.
Seneca (9-10, 5-5) began the final week of the regular season this past Monday at North Crawford and Tuesday at home vs. La Farge before finishing with a non-conference game at Fennimore on Thursday. The Royals received the fourth seed in their D5 regional group and will host fifth seed Hillsboro in the regional semifinal round on Thursday, May 28.
