10-run sixth unravels Lady Hounds

FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison Lady Hounds softball team was looking to build on a doubleheader sweep of Keokuk earlier this week and getting an extra day of rest thanks to a heavy line of Tuesday storms.
They held onto that momentum for six innings of their Thursday affair with Fairfield. But the Hounds got flat off a couple mistakes allowing the Trojans to put up a 10-spot in the top of the sixth to take a 13-1 lead enroute to a 13-4 win in Southeast Conference action at Baxter Sports Complex.
“If they fumble a ball, and then throw a ball bad, that is so contagious. They just turn everything into negative and it's just like everybody's flat. And when you get flat, you get beat, and that's what happened tonight - they got flat and we got beat,” FM Head Coach Kyle Doherty said.
Doherty was referring to back-to-back infield errors with no outs and the bases loaded after three straight singles to start the sixth. Mishandled grounders at third and short, and a hurried throw that got by third baseman Brylie Lorence, allowed two runs to score. Then the wheels fell off as the next seven Fairfield hitters reached, culminating with Lilly Bergren’s three-run homer to left center for a 13-1 lead.
Fort Madison would get out of the inning with a popout and lineout to left. They would put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but they needed five to avoid the eight-run rule after 10 innings, and the game ended in the sixth.
Doherty said the Hounds are just getting back to being healthy so the loss doesn’t have that big of an impact considering the sweep of Keokuk Monday. Fort Madison falls to 3-4 overall, 2-1 in Southeast Conference play.
“Honestly, we just got our center fielder (Olivia Buckner) back. This was her first game back. We haven't had any weeks yet where we've had a full team here. Ava Taylor's back being a little healthier, but that's the problem. We're getting two people back, and then two people are beat up, so they just have to figure that stuff out,” he said.
He said starting catcher Kylie Lumino was not 100% healthy coming into the game and then laid out for a foul ball in the second inning Thursday and came away scraped up from that. He said Taylor Huffman is also dealing with some nagging injuries.

“I thought the defense played really good. You take out some of those little duck snort hits and stuff like that, we were in it,” Doherty said.
Fort Madison gave up two quick runs in the first inning off starter Emma Snaadt, but got one back in the bottom of the third after sitting the Trojans down in the second and third.
Jordyn Marshall hit a two-out single to right field scoring Buckner from third. Marshall was stranded when Lorence grounded out to third.
Fairfield added a run in the fourth inning and that was all the scoring until the sixth.
Marshall had two hits on the night with an RBI and a run scored. Lorence, Lumino, and Laci Gathers had the other hits for the Lady Hounds.
Snaadt went five innings giving up 10 hits and six runs all earned without a strikeout. Marshall came on in the sixth and was tagged for seven runs on five hits.
Leah Helmick got the win for the Trojans. She also went 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Fort Madison is off until Saturday when they go to Central Lee for a 10 a.m. game in Donnellson.