Lady Raiders win season opener

The Three Rivers Lady Raiders softball team opened up their 2025 season with a doubleheader sweep of the Shawnee Community College Saints on Wednesday at J.D. Rains Field.

The Lady Raiders shut out the Saints 7-0 in the first game, then won the second game 11-3 in five innings in the nightcap.

Emma Crabb pitched five innings in the opener, only giving up two hits and striking out 13 batters to claim her first win of the season. Bella Harville pitched two innings of scoreless relief to close out the game.

Seven Three Rivers batters recorded hits with five RBIs total to account for their seven runs, two of which were aided by Shawnee errors. Jayce Jarvis, Madison Wooldridge, Clara Rahlmann, and Wriley Taylor (two) were credited with the runs batted in.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to a big lead in the first inning with four runs, followed by two more in the third and the final run in the sixth. This was more than enough for the win, as the Saints only had four hits in the entire game.

The second game started in similar fashion, with the Lady Raiders scoring two in the bottom of the first. Shawnee, however, tied it at 2-2 in the top of the third inning.

Three Rivers scored one in the bottom of the third inning, but Shawnee tied it with one in the top of the fourth. However, the Lady Raiders took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 6-3 lead.

Five runs for Three Rivers in the bottom of the fifth made the score 11-3, ending the game by the eight-run rule.

Erica Ross pitched all five innings for the Lady Raiders to claim her first win of the season. She gave up three runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

On the offensive side, Layla Pasley and Jayden Tucker both homered, and Jayce Jarvis, Ashlyn McNeese, and Clara Rahlmann also drove in runs in the victory.

Next up for the Lady Raiders is a weekend trip to Branson for a tournament on Friday and Saturday.