Charleston High School sophomore Lainie Keefer hit two home runs and totaled four RBIs across two games, but it wasn’t enough as the Trojan softball team was swept by Mt. Zion in an Apollo Conference doubleheader Thursday at Karch Field.
Charleston (7-9, 3-3) lost 12-6 in game one and 13-2 in a run rule-shortened six innings in game two.
Keefer’s first home run came in the first inning of game one, as the Trojans found some success against Braves freshman starting pitcher Journey Snow. Keefer whacked the first pitch she saw to centerfield, and the ball just cleared the fence for a solo home run to make it 1-0 Charleston.
The Trojan lead grew to 3-1 after two innings, but Mt. Zion (10-9, 4-2) chipped away by scoring one run in innings two through four to tie it at 3-3.
Then the momentum swung in the fifth inning, as the Braves took advantage of two Charleston errors and five hits surrendered by junior relief pitcher Reece Good to score five runs in the inning. Mt. Zion scored nine runs in the final three innings to pull away.
Keefer hit a no-doubt two run home run down the left field line in the sixth inning, and nearly hit her third of the game in the seventh but was just a little too far in front of a 3-2 pitch from junior Nikki Ellegood (5-6), and it landed to the wrong side of the left field foul pole.
Across both games, Keefer was 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and two walks while driving in three runs in game one and another in game two.
It served as a bounce-back performance for her after going 0-for-2 with a strikeout in yesterday’s game.
“Yesterday, I didn’t have a good day at all,” Keefer said. “I was just really trying to change my mindset.”
Mt. Zion used a three-run third inning in game two to take a 4-1 lead. The Braves could have easily added more runs in that inning had it not been for a massive catch by junior centerfielder Rylee Lewis.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Braves sophomore Savannah Beiler hit a long fly ball to right center field. Lewis sprinted back and stuck out her glove to make an over-the-shoulder inning-ending catch at full speed to strand the runners on the bases.
It was the second time in as many games that Lewis made an over-the-shoulder grab, as she had one in game one as well.
“I had a lot of kids step up today and kind of step into a role they’re unfamiliar with,” Charleston head coach Macey McElravy said. “I thought defensively, Rylee Lewis was on her game.”
McElravy said that the Trojans had some great moments, such as those two Lewis catches and the Keefer home runs, but that they didn’t capitalize on enough opportunities.
The second game was blown open by the Braves in the sixth inning. It started with the first two hitters of the inning reaching base for sophomore Avelyn Ethell, who launched a three run home run to centerfield for her second round-tripper of the game to make it 8-2. That ended the outing for junior pitcher Ella Price (0-2), but Mt. Zion scored five more runs in the inning to trigger the run rule.
“We’re just going to turn the page,” McElravy said. “We need to be thinking about what the next game is going to bring us and how we’re going to prepare for that.”
Charleston’s next game is on Monday, as the Trojans travel to take on Richland County. First pitch is set for 4:30.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
