Lady Indians continue dominance

Class A No. 2 Milan softball entered this week with 24 wins and the win streak sat at 11 games after last week as the Lady Indians cruised to three victories on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night in Ohio River Valley Conference action.

Milan won 12-0 at South Ripley on Wednesday, notched a 17-5 win versus Southwestern (Hanover) at home and was a 15-1 winner in a home game on Friday against Jac-Cen-Del.
The Lady Indians scored all 12 of their runs in the first three innings against South Ripley. Sophomore Kayleigh McIntosh threw a three-hit shutout in five innings of work. Classmate Brooklyn Smith drove in two runs and scored twice on two hits while freshman Braelyn Drew was 2-for-3 with a run. Kynadee Bode added two hits, two runs and an RBI. McKenna Eaglin singled, scored twice and drove in two runs and Emma Voss scored a team-high three runs and singled.

Ellie Combs doubled for South Ripley and Ava Bastin and Taylor Jordan each singled. Zoe Clowers was the losing pitcher after allowing three earned runs with three walks.

An 11-run bottom of the fourth inning allowed Milan to stretch out a 6-2 lead in the Southwestern game. The Lady Rebels (6-17, 2-6 ORVC) put up three runs in the top of the fifth but was forced to lose via the 10-run mercy rule.

Nevaeh Carpenter was huge with a bat, giving the Lady Indians four singles and five RBI with a run scored. Lillyan Gilbert was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Bode drove in four runs after going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Voss, Mallory Eaglin, Drew and Caroline McMillan also contributed with a hit.
McKenna Eaglin was the winning pitcher after four innings of work. Jenna Tingle hit an RBI single for Southwestern and the Lady Rebels saw starting pitcher Baleigh McAfee take the loss after four innings. She gave up 17 runs -nine earned- on 14 hits with five walks and two strikeouts.

Another five-inning affair on Friday night in Milan saw Jac-Cen-Del limited to just two hits while the defense suffered due to six fielding errors. The Lady Indians led 10-0 after two innings and put up five more runs in the next two frames combined. Jac-Cen-Del’s only run came in the top of the fifth.

Two doubles by Carpenter produced six RBI and two runs and Mallory Eaglin was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Gilbert’s two hits, two runs and RBI paired with a pair of runs batted in and a hit by Gilbert, a hit and four runs from McKenna Eaglin and a hit and two RBI by Bledsoe. Jillianne Herd and Drew wrapped up the offense with a hit apiece.
Bode was back to work inside the circle and notched the win, allowing no runs on two hits in four innings with five strikeouts and three walks.

Cheyenne Cullen and Paige Pindell each had a hit for Jac-Cen-Del. Elizabeth Burford scored the team’s lone run. Kaitlynn Shadday was the losing pitcher, going two innings and giving up 10 runs -eight earned- on four hits with six walks and two strikeouts.

The Lady Eagles (3-11, 1-6 ORVC) was at Switzerland County for a conference game on Monday.

Milan (24-4, 9-1 ORVC) has clinched its share of the ORVC championship and was home on Monday night against Trinity Lutheran before a scheduled contest this evening at home, playing host to Madison.