Lady Landers win Spring Fling at Lamar

Published 12:42 pm Monday, April 17, 2023

By C.Y. Peters

It was a busy day on Saturday for the Cloudland Jr. High Lady Landers; they won all three games to win the Lamar Spring Flint in Washington County.  “This was a good team win and we can build on this the rest of the season,” said Coach Corie Schuettler.

    Cloudland opened up against Sulphur Springs and wasted no time showing why they are undefeated in Conference play.  Pitcher Reagan Turbyfill started the game with a single and the Lady Landers would score four runs in the first inning.  This would give Turbyfill the cushion she needed to relax and fire the ball from the pitcher’s mound.  The Landers would add another run in the second for a 5-0 lead.  Turbyfill would rule the game, striking out ten batters and walking none.  Willow Bennett led Cloudland at the dish collecting two hits.  Turbyfill, Jayla Harper, Ayla Horney, Abriella Jones, Khloe Johnson and Tanaka Isaacs and had hits in the game. Jones had two RBIs and Johnson one.

    In the second game of the day, Cloudland played a tough Grandview team.  Doing the job at the plate early makes for a successful game. The Lady Landers wasted no time getting two runs on the scoreboard, giving second-game pitcher Ayla Horney room to work with.  Although Grandview battled back to take a one-run lead in the third, 3-2, Cloudland scored in the bottom of the third and again in the fourth for the win.   Horney struck out seven batters and gave up only one walk in the game.  Cloudland scored four runs on three hits but was patient at the plate, gathering eight walks.  Turbyfill, Willow Bennett and Caroline Hughes had hits; Bennett scored two runs, and Hughes tallied two RBIs.

    Grandview worked their way through the loser’s bracket to meet the Highlanders in the championship game.  It would be the third game of the day for Cloudland, who placed Turbyfill back on the mound.  The are three elements in softball: pitching, hitting and defense.  It’s always hard to keep beating a team, especially on the same day.  Grandview would score two runs in the top of the first, but the Lady Landers answered with four runs.  Horney doubled as did Khloe Johnson in the first inning.  The Landers would extend their lead to five runs with a three-run inning in the second for a 7-2 lead.   Every inning was full of action; between the teams, there were 16 hits and 12 walks.  That’s a lot of base-runners in a five-inning game.

    Grandview cut the lead to two with three runs in the top of the third, holding Cloudland scoreless in the bottom of the inning.  After returning the favor in the top of the fourth, keeping the Lady Eagles scoreless, Cloudland plated five runs in the fourth for a 12-5 lead.  The Eagles would try to rally one more time in the fifth, scoring four runs, but the Landers’ lead was too much to overcome.  They would add one more run in the bottom of the inning for a 13-9 win.  “Everybody did their job,” said Coach Schuettler.

    Turbyfill led the Landers at the plate with three hits in four at-bats and scored two runs.  She also collected three RBIs, Horney and Johnson had two RBIs.  Hughes was two for four with two runs scored.  Horney was two for three with two runs scored.  Harper, Johnson and Taylor Gibbs all had a hit.  Turbyfill’s second win came with five strikeouts and two walks.