Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Free State’s XXX during a softball game against Olathe North on April 7 at Free State High School in Lawrence.
PERRY — Free State softball rolled to a doubleheader sweep of Perry-Lecompton on Friday to extend its win streak to five games.
The Firebirds took the first game 5-1 and followed with a decisive 11-3 victory in the nightcap.
Free State received solid performances in the circle from starters Jace Feurt and Avery Sack, while Sarai Preston continued to rake at the dish.
Perry-Lecompton got off to a strong start in the opening game as Ziva Rockhold’s first inning solo blast off Feurt handed the Kaws a 1-0 lead. Rockhold’s homer was the first for the home team at Perry-Lecompton’s new field.
Feurt and Kaws’ hurler Olivia Hart proceeded to post scoreless frames until the top of the sixth. Preston led off the inning with a single that she stretched into two bags on a Kaws’ throwing error.
With two runners on, Hart nearly escaped the jam, but third baseman Devin Aldrich was unable to glove Feurt’s hard-hit grounder down the third base line.
Feurt’s base knock scored Preston from second base to tie the game. Hart was able to avert any further damage after inducing an inning-ending groundout.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Free State’s Jace Feurt throws a pitch during a softball game against Olathe North on April 7 at Free State High School in Lawrence.
Free State opened the bottom of the frame with a pair of groundouts, followed by Rockhold’s bloop single to shallow right field. Clean-up hitter Macie Corcoran was unable to advance Rockhold, as shortstop Sophia Halton fielded a one-hopper and fired a dart to first base that beat Corcoran by a half step.
While Hart mostly held down the Free State bats through six frames, the floodgates opened in the seventh inning.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Halton’s bunt single loaded the bases. Mallary Hice then plated a run on a fielder’s choice groundout as the Firebirds led 2-1.
Preston, who has been scorching hot at the plate, laced a bases-clearing single into the right-center field gap, putting the Firebirds on top 4-1. Preston eventually wound up scoring on an error to increase the lead to four runs.
Feurt then put the finishing touches on her complete-game victory with a 1-2-3 inning that included two fly outs to Riley Schierling in center field and an infield groundout.
Feurt scattered five hits over seven frames, while striking out four and walking none. Feurt also threw 56 of 79 pitches for strikes to notch her first victory of the season.
Preston finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while third baseman Maya Friedman was the only other Firebird to record a multi-hit performance.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Perry-Lecompton’s Olivia Hart throws a pitch during a softball game against Santa Fe Trail on March 27 at Perry-Lecompton High School in Perry.
Hart took the loss, yielding five runs (four earned) on eight hits, while striking out six over seven innings of work. At the dish, Rockhold and Hart accounted for four of the Kaws’ five hits.
Free State exploded for four runs in the first inning of the second game, sparked by Feurt’s two-run blast. The rocky inning was enough to knock Kaws’ starting pitcher Taylor Armbrust from the contest.
Perry-Lecompton scraped across a run in the bottom half of the frame to cut the lead to 4-1.
After throwing 95 pitches in the opener, Hart returned to the circle to open the top of the second, and immediately encountered trouble.
Avery Lonnberg drew a leadoff walk, followed by singles from Halton and Hice to load the bases with no outs. The Firebirds managed to push across two runs via Preston’s shallow sacrifice fly and Sack’s hard-hit infield groundout that scored Halton for a 6-1 advantage.
Perry-Lecompton (2-7) replied with two runs in the third to cut its deficit to 6-3. Paxton Damme was plated, and driven in on Rockhold’s infield groundout. And Jolie Corcoran, who reached on an error, came in to score on a wild pitch.
Hart was pulled in the fourth, but not before the Firebirds inflicted more damage. Free State plated four runs in the frame, highlighted by Preston’s second home run of the season.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Free State’s Sarai Preston connects with the ball on a swing during a softball game against Olathe North on April 7 at Free State High School in Lawrence.
Preston clobbered Hart’s offering that was left over the heart of the plate.
“I was just going up there carefree,” Preston said. “I had already seen the pitcher a bunch of times, and I was just envisioning a good hit.”
Kade Hoffman and Friedman also drove in runs on line smashes that reached the outfield wall, as the Firebirds rolled to the eight-run victory.
Preston finished 1-for-2 with four RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Preston has been on a tear over her last four games — going 10-for-14 with 10 RBI, nine runs scored, and two homers.
“Mentally, I’ve just been telling myself to have fun,” Preston said. “It’s just a game, so go up there and be myself, because I know that I’m capable of,”
Preston said that she also switched to a more “evenly loaded” bat after the team’s season-opening loss on April 1, ditching her Marucci for a Ghost.
Also at the dish, Feurt went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs. Halton finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while AJ Collins also knocked in a pair of runs.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Perry-Lecompton’s Jolie Corcoran takes a swing at a pitch during a softball game against Santa Fe Trail on March 27 at Perry-Lecompton High School in Perry.
Sack went seven strong innings in the circle for the Firebirds, striking out three and walking three, while throwing 64 of 104 pitches for strikes. Only one of the three runs scored by Perry-Lecompton was charged as earned.
Jolie Corcoran led the way for the Kaws, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Perry-Lecompton coach Erin Damme said that her squad is encountering tough luck at the dish.
“We’re hitting well, but hit everything to them,” she said. “I kept telling the girls they’re going to fall, and they kept their positive attitudes.”
Damme said that the team is down a starting pitcher and that Hart has helped to pick up the slack in a workhorse role.
“Olivia is coming around,” she said, adding that Hart is “really commanding” her pitches.
Free State (5-1) returns to the diamond at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a league tilt at home against Olathe South. Perry-Lecompton (2-8) will host Holton in a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Free State’s Sophia Halton sprints to first base during a softball game against Olathe North on April 7 at Free State High School in Lawrence.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Perry-Lecompton’s Ziva Rockhold connects with a pitch on a swing during a softball game against Santa Fe Trail on March 27 at Perry-Lecompton High School in Perry.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports, File Photo
Free State’s Sarai Preston, Riley Schierling and Avery Lonnberg bump fists during a softball game against Olathe North on April 7 at Free State High School in Lawrence.
