The Central A&M softball team produced a dramatic 3-2 win over Warrensburg-Latham after eight innings on a windy Monday night. The two teams came into the game with similar records and in neighboring positions in the Central Illinois Conference.
Warrensburg-Latham started strongly, putting up two runs in the first inning. CAM responded when Riley Hazelwonder led off the bottom half with a home run. They equalized in the fourth when Broklin Justice singled home Brookelyn Jackson, who herself reached on a one-out double. Their hits were the Raiders' first in the game from someone not named Riley Hazelwonder.
In the ensuing normal innings, each team let slip an opportunity to score with the bases loaded and one out. With the game still deadlocked in the seventh, Shelby Younker singled with one out and then attempted to steal second. Her hesitancy in doing so meant the throw to second could easily beat her, but an error allowed her to reach safely. She could not score, though, as Syra Sims' strikeout and Kayla McPeek's flyout sent the game into extra innings.
Riley Hazelwonder - still in the circle having started - dismissed the Cardinals in order in the eighth. Callie Robertson led off the bottom half with a double. She advanced to third on the next play with Brookelyn Jackson's fly-ball dropped in between on-rushing outfielders. Wesleigh Cochran stepped up and hit a grounder to short which skipped past the infielder, allowing Robertson to cross for the winning run.
Hazelwonder threw 14 strikeouts, including two innings in which every out took that form. Combined with a two-for-two performance at the plate, she was named the Seitz Funeral Homes Player of the Game. Her counterpart Kelsey Oakley also went the distance, giving up eight hits and no unintentional walks while picking up five strikeouts.
Central A&M's record now stands at 12-10 overall and 6-2 in the conference; they host Clinton tomorrow. Warrensburg-Latham drops to 11-12 overall and 3-4 in the conference. Their roadtrip continues with a game against Sullivan.
