New Madrid SB on cusp of history following rout of Bulldogs

New Madrid County High School senior Kate Taylor readies herself in the on-deck circle recently against Dexter at East Park in Dexter.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

This week certainly won’t be an easy one for the New Madrid County Central High School varsity softball squad.

The Eagles will have difficult tests against Oran (today at 4:30 p.m.), followed by home games against Bloomfield (Thursday, 4:30 p.m.), and Bernie (Friday, 4:30 p.m.). However, if the Eagles (11-6) can grab a victory from just one of those formidable foes, that 12th win will mark a high point for the program over the past seven seasons.

“This is my second year,” New Madrid County Central coach Matt Hartman said recently, “and we’re trying to change this tradition a little bit.”

The Eagles are in the process of doing just that with their strong play, thus far, on both sides of the diamond.

Offensively, New Madrid County Central is averaging nearly 10 runs per game, which is the most in the past decade, and defensively, Hartman’s kids have limited opponents to 8.5 runs per game, which is the fewest in four years.

“It’s tough to buy in sometimes,” Hartman explained. “But we have two good seniors in Kate Taylor and another senior, who can really spin it, in Kylee Sturgeon.”

In the Eagles’ latest win, a 13-3 beating of South Pemiscot on Friday, Sturgeon opened the game by throwing one-hit ball over the opening 1 2/3 innings.

New Madrid County Central sophomore Joebeth Riley closed the game by working 3 1/3 innings and giving up just two earned runs while striking out four Bulldog hitters.

“Kylee has been spinning it well,” Hartman said. “She beat Malden. She beat Caruthersville already this year. We’re trying to get her back into shape.”

Second-year New Madrid County High School softball coach Matt Hartman speaks with an umpire during a recent game against Dexter at East Park in Dexter. (Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com)

Sophomore Emma Howard was the star offensively in that win. She tallied two hits, scored twice, and drove in four runs, as she connected for a triple.

Eagle junior Destiny Hughes only had one hit, but it was a big one, as she drove a pitch out of the park for a grand slam and finished with two runs scored.

Sophomore Laura Johnson added two hits in the win to go with her two runs while Riley had two stolen bases.

New Madrid freshman Ella Courtois had one hit, one run scored, and two RBI while sophomore Mylee Cook (one hit, one run), Riley (one hit, two runs), freshman Aubrey Aycock (two walks, two runs), and Taylor (one hit, one RBI) also contributed in the win.

Courtois, Cook, and sophomore Makayla Gaskins each nabbed a stolen base for the Eagles.

South Pemiscot (10-11) was paced both offensively and defensively by senior Abigail Edwards, who threw four innings and allowed six earned runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out seven.

Offensively, Edwards had two hits, including a double, to go with one run scored, and one walk.

The Bulldogs, which won three consecutive games in Saturday’s Swing Pink Tournament at Dexter by beating the host Bulldogs (10-5), Bloomfield (19-11), and Meadow Heights (11-3), also got a hit against New Madrid from sophomore Phoenix Simmons.

Simmons scored twice against the Eagles and walked twice while junior Ayleighonna Farmer (one walk), junior Khyla Edwards-Hunt (one walk), senior Sonia Blagg (one hit, two RBI), junior Ta’Kylah Wooden (one hit), and freshman Ma’Leah Duckworth (one walk) also contributed for South Pemiscot.

Moore was hit by a pitch and also stole a base.

The Bulldogs fell 6-3 to Malden in the opening round of the Bootheel Conference Tournament on Monday. However, the next victory for South Pemiscot will match the program’s best season (11 wins) in nearly 15 years.

The Bulldogs will visit Risco (7-5-1) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.