Softball team struggles, losses to Borah, Emmett

Mountain Home's girls softball team struggled in its first games of the spring season following losses to Borah and Emmett.

Borah 12, Mountain Home 5

During the season opener, Borah scored three runs in the opening inning and put away four more in the fourth and sixth innings as the Lions roared to a 12-5 win March 10.

The Lady Tigers put three runs on the board at the top of the third and added two more in the sixth but were unable to narrow the deficit as the Lions won after seven.

Paris Mederios led Mountain Home at the plate with two hits with the team sharing in the total runs earned. Mederios pitched two innings during the game and finished with 11 first-pitch strikes. Ashten Harrigan pitched three innings against Borah.

The Lady Tigers entered the game feeling a little nervous for their season opener, said Lady Tigers coach Ron Nicolosi.

"With only four returning players and most of them being first year varsity players, we allowed the pressure of game situations to get the best of us," Nicolosi said.

Defensively, the Lady Tigers only made three errors. However, they seemed to be at bad times in the game, the coach added.

"I thought our pitchers did well. They gave up six earned runs out of the 12 scored, which tells you we made our mistakes at the wrong time," Nicolosi said. "One area we will need to address were the number of walks our pitchers gave up. Seven walks is too many free passes, and we need to cut those down to have success in our conference."

Offensively, the coach felt the Lady Tigers' bat speed was a little slow.

"The balls just didn't seem to have any pop off our bats," he said. "Our strikeouts disappointed me because I thought (Emily) Wilde was a pitcher we should have handled very well."

Nicolosi added that when his pitchers discipline themselves and learn the strike zone, the strikeouts Borah earned will go down.

Emmett 13, Mountain Home 3

Going up against the 3A division state runner up from last year, the Lady Tigers faced another uphill battle as Emmett rallied for eight combined runs in the first three innings on their way to a 13-3 win against Mountain Home.

The Lady Tigers trailed by two runs after the first inning before the Lady Huskies pounded out four at the bottom of the second and two more in the third. Mountain Home scored two more at the top of the fifth before Emmett put the game away with four runs in the sixth.

Ryan Floyd led the Lady Tigers at the plate with two RBIs. Those earning hits for Mountain Home were Mederios and Breanna Tindall with one each.

Nicolosi expected Emmett to be a tough team due, in part, to pitcher Allie Kaiser, who remains one of the best in the Treasure Valley. While Mountain Home started off well with the bases loaded in the first, base running mistakes cost the team needed runs during that inning.

"When you have a chance to put a good team in the hole, you have to take advantage of it, and we didn't," the coach said. "We also had nine strikeouts, which did not help our cause."

The Lady Tigers simply made too many mistakes against a really good team, Nicolosi added.

"The physical mistakes happen, but we have to do better on our mental mistakes," he said. "We have to know what to do with the ball before it is hit to us."

At the plate, the Lady Tigers were put to the test by Emmett's strong pitching.

"Right now, we're learning, and facing pitchers like this forces us to focus and concentrate," Nicolosi said. "We got the bat on the ball against a very good pitcher, so I'm hoping this gives our girls some confidence in their abilities."

The coach was proud of players like Mederios, who started the season batting .500 with an on-base percentage of .571. Breanna Tindall and Sophia Harris also started the season doing well.

"My only real disappointment is the 14 strikeouts we have had in the first two games," the coach added. "I did not see that coming. These girls hit better than that and when they do, watch out."

The Lady Tigers return to action April 5 for a 5 p.m. home game against Bishop Kelly Lady Knights.