Holcomb finishes third in Class 1 state tournament with win over Plato

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- The Holcomb Lady Hornets we’re able to finish their state tournament off on a good note. After losing in the final four to Jasper, the Lady Hornets won the third place game against Plato, 8-0.

The Lady Hornets had to prepare for their third place game against Plato shortly after losing to Jasper. Not the most ideal situation.

“This is definitely not ideal, we have a lot of emotional players over there, and it might be hard for them to recharge their batteries and get ready to compete in this next one,” said Holcomb head softball coach Matt Casper, just after their loss to Jasper. “But you just have to find a way to do it. We got to play for pride. We aren’t competing for a state championship anymore, but we are competing for pride and third place. So we just have to move on and hopefully these girls and re-charge their batteries, and we got to be ready to go.”

Holcomb's seniors holding their third place plaque up after an 8-0 win over Plato.Justin Churchill, Delta Dunklin Democrat

They were ready to go, and they definitely re-charged their batteries.

The Lady Hornets took a while to get things going, but when they did, their offense was firing on all cylinders. A run was not scored until the fourth inning when the Lady Hornets scored one run. After that, they scored three in the fifth, and four in the sixth.

Three players had multiple hits, those being Callis, Brown, and Danley. Callis finished with three hits in the game, while the others finished with two. Only five players did not finish with a hit. Brown and Danley finished with two runs batted in each, while Danley finished with the games only triple.

“The bats have been there all year, and I feel like we have faced pretty good pitching throughout the year,” said Matt Casper.

Callis, White, and Danley all finished with doubles in the game.

The base-running was great as well, as the Lady Hornets stole successfully twice by Callis and Danley.

Holcomb's seniors holding up their third place plaque after an 8-0 win over Plato on Monday.Justin Churchill, Delta Dunklin Democrat

The score could have been bigger with an even wider margin for the Lady Hornets, as they left six runners on base in this one.

While they have finished with good pitching, their pitching was also good. Alyssa Brown pitched for them in this one, as she also pitched in the game against Jasper.

Brown finished with seven inning pitched, pitching a complete game with a shut out. She also allowed just five hits, and only walked one batter while striking out two.

Holcomb softball team with their third place medals and plaque after beating Plato 8-0 on Monday in Springfield.Photo Provided

Brown’s pitches throw to strikes thrown count was 87-59, meaning she was extremely accurate on the day, while facing 29 batters.

Congratulations to the Holcomb Lady Hornets on their third place finish in the class one state tournament.

HLCM- 000 134 0 - 8 10 2

PLTO- 000 000 0 - 0 5 4

Holcomb (8)- Batting 2B: E Callis, J White, K Danley. 3B: K Danley

Pitching: A Brown (7.0IP, 5H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 2SO)

Plato (0)- Batting TB: C Cook, A Test, C Groves, K Garrett, K Copley.