Lady Tigers win one but drop two in conference action

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers started the week off with a win at Nampa but dropped two home games against Caldwell and Skyview.

Mountain Home 15, Nampa 8

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers scored six runs in the second inning and seven more in the third on their way to a 15-8 conference softball win over the Lady Bulldogs on April 17.

Nampa scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Then the Lady Tigers sent 12 batters to the plate in the second, scoring six runs before sending 13 to the plate in the third as they built their lead to 13-5.

Mountain Home softball coach Chris Asbury was pleased to see his Lady Tigers take control of the ball game.

"We had a great day at the plate -- both teams came out ready to swing," the coach said. "I think the pitching is so level across the conference that we're going to see a lot more of these games. We had one against Emmett, and now we're scoring some runs. I think that's what it's going to take -- playing some defense and scoring runs from here on out."

The Lady Tigers pounded out 16 hits in the game, led by Teresa Fredell who had three hits and four RBI. Madison Siefferman, Brittney Karst, Courtney Christiansen, Heather Adams, Maeghan Pomerantz and Taylor Reed all had two hits. Siefferman and Christiansen both had a triple and an RBI, while Pomerantz had two RBIs and scored three runs while Reed also knocked in two runs. Krissy Elliott also had a hit and two RBI.

Heather Adams pitched into the seventh to get the win, her seventh against six losses. Meanwhile, Madi Karst pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Caldwell 5, Mountain Home 4

(eight innings)

Mountain Home battled back from a 2-0 deficit to force extra innings but fell a run short to Caldwell in an eight inning game at Memmelaar Field in Mountain Home on April 19.

Caldwell scored two runs in the second inning and the lead held up until the Lady Tigers were able to get single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Lady Cougars scored three times in the top of the eighth to go up 5-2. Mountain Home scored two runs in the bottom of the inning but left the potentially tying runs on base when the game ended.

"Very frustrating," Coach Asbury said after the game, which saw the Lady Tigers leave 11 runners on base during the game. "Considering where we were on Tuesday and not getting our job done in the batters box, I'm just extremely disappointed in our performance. We had opportunities in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to produce runs, and frustration is saying it lightly."

The coach added the team will continue scrapping as the season continues, "and as long as we're playing better by May, that's our ultimate goal."

Teresa Fredell led the Lady Tigers at the plate with two hits, including a double while droving in two runs. Madison Siefferman, Brittney Karst, Courtney Christiansen, Heather Adams and Morgan Vivier all had hits with Christiansen adding an RBI. Heather Adams suffered the loss to fall to 7-7 on the season.

Skyview 8, Mountain Home 3

The Lady Hawks from Skyview pulled away in the late innings to down Mountain Home, 8-3, Saturday at Memmelaar Field.

Skyview jumped out to a 4-0 lead after an inning. Mountain Home got one run in the second and two more in the third to close the gap to one. The Hawks added a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to win it.

"The top team in the conference, and for six innings we had a one-run ball game, so I was very impressed with our effort to bounce back from a very heartbreaking loss against Caldwell," Coach Asbury said. "I have no problem with our effort or performance. We just came up a little short to a team that was better than us today.

The coach added that the Lady Tigers proved a point during the game regarding their potential at the plate and in the field.

"If we just get better everyday, hopefully we're peaking at the right time," he said.

Madison Siefferman, Krissy Elliott, Brittney Karst and Madi Karst all had two hits for Mountain Home. Madi Karst had a home run and RBI. Courtney Christiansen had a double and RBI while Taylor Reed added a double.

Madi Karst started the game and pitched into the sixth before Heather Adams took over in the circle with Karst suffering the loss.

The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 4-7 in league play and 7-10 overall.

Mountain Home has three games this week. They played at Bishop Kelly on Monday and host Columbia today, April 25, before they host Kuna on Friday.

"Three tough games this week," Coach Asbury said regarding the schedule. "I think in a span of four games, we've played the top four teams in the conference, so it's a pretty big test to finish out the season, and it'll tell us a lot about where we're at as a team."