The Chillicothe Lady Hornets were on the road Tuesday night at Mid-Buchanan. Both teams entered boasting impressive resumes, Chillicothe at 5-1 won the Silver Bracket of the Greater Kansas City Tournament over the weekend coming off of the Class 3 State title, while Mid-Buc sported a 4-1 record and a runner-up finish in the Gold Bracket of the same tournament over the weekend. The Lady Dragons also went to the Final Four last season, placing 3rd in Class 2.
Chillicothe quickly got on the scoreboard to open the game. Leading off with back to back walks, from Mid-Buchanan pitcher Paisley Meyer, Ellie Acree’s ground ball scored Hope Donoho to give the Lady Hornets a 1-0 lead. In the 2nd inning, back to back hits from Quin Marsh and Macie Rodenburg provided another run.
The Lady Dragons answered back in the 2nd inning with a run of their own before Chillicothe’s offense strung together an impressive sequence in the 4th inning. Hits from Jordan Foster and Kylee Link were paid off on a sacrifice fly from Quin Marsh, then Macie Rodenberg delivered another hit, which scored Link and Rodenberg ultimately added a run herself on a double steal.
Chillicothe was ahead 5-1 in the bottom of the 4th when Mid-Buchanan catcher Zuzu Kountz blasted a ball off pitcher Landry Marsh over the fence in left field for a two shot homerun. From there Marsh was near unhittable for the remainder of the game, allowing only one baserunner through the final 13 batters she faced in route to the 5-3 win. Marsh pitched the entirety of the game in the circle, allowing just five hits while striking out five batters and walking none.
Chillicothe improves to 6-1 on the season after the road victory over a strong opponent facing sweltering conditions. The Lady Hornets will be back in action on Thursday at Lawson, then will have their first home game next Tuesday hosting Penney Hamilton.