Hornettes Fall On Senior Day

Alli Liske, alongside her parents Scott and Staci Liske was the only senior for the Nashville Hornettes softball team this season.
By Brent Huelsmann
The Nashville Hornettes softball team finished up their regular season, by losing three of four. The Hornettes face tough competition this past week, as they were defeated by Alton Marquette, O’Fallon, and Columbia. The Hornettes picked up their lone win of the week against Wesclin on May 12. Nashville finished the regular season with a record of 20-12.
The Hornettes began the week with a close 4-1 loss to Alton Marquette on May 9. Alton Marquette got three first inning runs, but managed only one run the rest of the way, as Hornettes pitcher Kyleigh Guinzy settled down.
Offensively Nashville could not solve Megan Schorman in the circle. Nashville managed just two hits in the game, both coming off the bat of Mackenzie McFeron. McFeron drove in the lone run for Nashville with a home run in the fifth inning. After the game, Shaun Renth talked about the game, “we just didn’t get the hits when we needed them, obviously they had that home run to lead off and added two more in the first. Can’t give good teams extra outs, and we just did that a couple times today. I thought Kyleigh battled and she settled down and was pretty good after that. We just couldn’t get big hits today. She was a good pitcher, she was on.”
The Hornettes got a great effort from Guinzy in the circle, as she pitched all seven innings for Nashville. Guinzy gave up nine hits, four runs, only one of which was earned, and struck out two batters.
At the plate McFeron notched the only hits fo the game for Nashville, but Karly Stanowski, Jordan Stiegman, and Brooke Burcham all reached base via the walk.
The Hornettes finished out their home schedule with a 6-5 loss to O’Fallon on May 10. Before the game Alli Liske, the Hornettes lone senior this year was honored with her parents.
Nashville got off to a good start as they Hornettes got two runs in the second to open the scoring. Sophie Heck did the damage with a two-run home run. The Hornettes would add another run in the third after McFeron singled, stole second and third and later scored to give Nashville a 3-0 lead.
O’Fallon tied the game in the fourth. O’Fallon got the first two runners on base via a single, before a three-run home run tied the game at three. The game would stay tied until the seventh, when O’Fallon broke out for three more runs.
Down by three headed to the bottom of the seventh, the Hornettes would try and stage a comeback. WIth one out in the inning, Ahlers hit a two-run home run that left the park in a hurry to get the Hornettes back within one. That would be as close as the Hornettes would come as the comeback fell just short and O’Fallon won the game 6-5.
After the game, Renth talked about the final inning. “We talked about shutting the door, when it’s 3-3 like that. You have an opportunity to keep them off the board, and we just didn’t do that today unfortunately. Our girls tried to come back, which was nice but just didn’t have enough there at the end. Glad they came back, but you have to shut the door there in the seventh inning.”
Offensively both Heck and Ahlers led the way, as they each had a two run home run in the game. McFeron finished with two hits and two steals in the loss, while Burcham notched two hits of her own. Stiegman singled for Nashville in the game.
In the circle, Guinzy pitched all seven innings for the Hornettes. Guinzy gave up five earned runs, and struck out three batters in the loss.
Nashville got back to winning in their next contest, as they needed just four innings to get past Wesclin 20-4. The Hornettes got production from up and down the lineup as ten different players had hits for Nashville.
After two innings, the Hornettes held a slim 3-2 lead, but Nashville quickly put the game out of reach. The Hornettes would score nine runs in the third to put the game away.
All nine runs were scored before Nashville made an out in the inning. Overall the Hornettes would have nine hits in the inning. Heck blasted a three run home run, after Stiegman and Burcham singled to open the inning. Stanowski had a two-RBI double in the inning as well.
The Hornettes bats stayed hot in the fourth, as Nashville hit two more home runs in the inning. Stiegman had the big blast, a grand slam that cleared the bases. Jenna Harris would hit a two-run home run later in the inning.
Wesclin went quietly in the bottom half of the fourth, and the Hornettes took the game 20-4.
Offensively, Stiegman led the way with three hits, two runs scored, five RBIS, four of which came on one swing of the bat. Heck finished with three RBIs in the win, all three coming from her third inning home run. Burcham also had three RBIs in the win, to go along with three hits and a run scored.Harris had two hits in the contest, including a two-run home run. At the top of the lineup, McFeron went 3-3 with three runs scored, a RBI, and three steals. Liske and Stanowski each finished with two RBIs and a hit while Ahlers scored two runs on two hits. Paige Kasten drove in a run, and scored two in the win, while Joey Lane scored two runs and had a hit for the Hornettes. Addi Gale scored three runs and stole a base.
Harris pitched all four innings, and gave up three earned runs, four total, and struck out one batter.
Nashville finished out the regular season with an 11-1 loss to Columbia on May 13. The Hornettes could not find a rhythm offensively, as Nashville finished with just four hits in the game.
Nashville had a chance to score in the first, as back-to-back walks by Kasten and Stanowski gave them two runners on, but the runners would be stranded at second and third.
Columbia came back with three runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. Columbia would continue to add to their lead with one in the second and two in the third.
The Hornettes would score their lone run of the game in the fifth, as McFeron tripled with one out, and later scored on a double by Stanowski.
Columbia would end the game in the bottom half of the fifth, as five runs came across to score to give the Lady Eagles an 11-1 win.
Stanowski drove in the only run of the game for Nashville, as she finished 1-2 with a double, a walk, and a RBI. McFeron was the only Hornette to have more than one hit in the loss, as she finished 2-3 with a triple and a run scored. Sophie Heck finished with a single in the game, while both Burcham and Kasten walked in the contest.
Nashville’s record is 20-13 on the season.