BENTON — That big yellow ball didn't stand a chance Tuesday afternoon, as those red hot Rangerettes did everything but knock the cover off of it in their 13-1 victory over the Carbondale Terriers, in which Benton had 14 total hits and won the game in just five innings via the 10-run mercy rule.
This win improved Benton’s record to 6-4 and also marks the third straight victory for the Rangerettes in the still young softball season. It is also the third time in a span of about a week that they've had a game with 10 or more total hits, as they’ve accounted for nearly 40 hits in the last week alone.
It didn’t take long for the Rangerettes to establish their presence at the plate, as Ally Gischer led off Benton's half of the first with a single, which was followed up quickly with a double by Lacey Jerkins which advanced Gischer to third. Later in the inning, Cristen Shaw drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice groundout to first.
Benton was scoreless in the second — the only inning which they failed to plate home a run, but then had a big four run inning in the third with hits from Jerkins, Shaw, Taylor Mosley, Eb Casey, and Lauren Zinzilieta. Jerkins hit her third home run of the year, in a solo shot in the fourth. Carbondale also scored their only run of the game in the fourth after a leadoff single by Karly Williard, who was later driven home by Kaylan Talley.
In the grand finale to the afternoon fireworks display, the Rangerettes brought home seven runners including Gischer, Jerkins, Aubrey Hunter, Shaw, Lindsey Seidel, Casey, and Zinzilieta in the fifth inning to secure a blowout win via the 10 run rule.
The Terriers were limited to seven hits by Benton pitcher Taylor Mosley, who pitched the entire game and recorded five strikeouts. Carbondale's Lindsey Sears had the unfortunate task of facing these Benton girls at the plate. The Rangerettes blasted out 14 hits and only struck out once, which marks the third time in a week they have had such an offensive output.
Casey was the game's leading hitter, going 4-for-4, with one RBI and a run scored. Gischer was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored. Jerkins was 3-for-3 with a walk, a home run, and three runs. Shaw was 2-for-4, reached on an error, had two RBIs and also scored twice herself. Mosley was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Eight of nine Rangerettes had hits, while seven of them had RBI hits, and eight different Benton girls also scored runs in the game.
For Carbondale, Maddie Doan was a perfect 2-for-2 with two singles. She was the only Terrier with multiple hits. Also scoring hits for Carbondale were Sears, Willard, Becca Beaupre, Taja Dedecker, and Savannah Talley.
Sarah Stowers noted that she was very proud of her team after the game, and touted their offensive output. "This was a great team win for us,” Stowers said. Stowers also added that while the headlines will go to the offense, that she was also extremely happy that her girls put together a very impressive defensive performance. "When runners were on, we were able to make some great plays defensively," said Stowers.
In the other game of the day, the J-V Rangerettes topped their Carbondale counterparts 5-1 to win their fourth straight game, improving their record to 4-0. Casey scored her fifth hit of the day in that game, which also featured hits from Baylee Sawyer and Courtney Reno.
The varsity Rangerettes will travel to Vienna today on the road, and then will return home to battle Herrin on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
