CARTHAGE, Mo. — Jensyn Elder dazzled in the circle once again and the Carthage High School softball team extended its winning streak to seven with a 10-4 victory over Webb City on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference action at the Fair Acres Sports Complex.
A senior right-hander, Elder struck out 14, scattered four hits and walked just one in a stellar performance inside the circle.
“She came out and was spectacular,” Carthage coach Stephanie Ray said. “She gave up four in the sixth and then came right back and shut them down in the seventh. She’s come on strong this year. She’s thrown well in every game. She gets big outs when we need them.”
The Cardinals recorded all four of their hits in the sixth inning.
Elder threw a first-pitch strike to 21 of 28 batters. She induced six flyouts and one groundout.
“I feel pretty good about today,” said Elder, who had a no-hitter through five innings. “My rise ball was working and my curve and screwball were working for me. I feel like we’re getting better as a team and I think this has been my best year.”
For the season, Elder (17-8) has struck out 248 batters and walked just 25. She owns a 1.49 ERA.
In addition to seven straight wins, Carthage has won 11 of its last 12 contests.
Ray noted her team is playing well at the right time of the season—just before the district tournament arrives.
“There’s a lot of belief in these kids,” Ray said. “We’ve focused really hard. We’ve worked on hitting, they’ve stuck with it and they’ve improved. They trust the process. It’s starting to pay off for them.”
The Tigers plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, as Ashlyn Brust and Mary Grace Richmond both singled before Landy Cochran delivered a two-run double to left field.
The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Elder’s RBI single to right allowed Natalie Rodriguez to jog home.
Carthage pushed across four runs in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead.
Kate Potter doubled, Cochran walked and Presley Probert was hit by a pitch. Rodriguez lined a two-run double to left before a wild pitch and an error allowed two more runs to cross home.
After being limited to a hit batter and a walk through five frames, Webb City finally got the bats going in the top of the sixth.
With two outs, Emma Welch reached on an error to start things off. Hannah Wells, Kaylyn Gilbert and Ripley Shanks all doubled to right. An RBI single to left by Morgan Brannon cut Webb City’s deficit to 7-4.
But the Tigers responded in the bottom half, as Probert smacked an RBI double to right-center, Rodriguez contributed a sac fly and Jordyn Jones delivered a run-scoring single up the middle, extending Carthage’s advantage to 10-4.
Ray was pleased her team answered back after Webb City’s big inning.
“Our girls got their energy up,” Ray said. “When our energy is up and we’re hitting well, it doesn’t matter who is pitching. Our girls believe they’re going to get a big hit and we were able to get some more runs there.”
Elder struck out the side in the seventh to secure the win.
“It took us a while to adjust to their pitcher,” Webb City coach Shauna Friend said. “She did a great job in the circle. It was good to see us get some clutch hits in the sixth and it was good to see us get some runs on the board. That was a positive for us.”
Carthage (17-11) recorded 15 hits. Jones went 3-for-4, while Cochran, Probert, Rodriguez, Elder and Brust all had two hits apiece.
Laney Taylor took the loss for Webb City (13-11). She went four innings and allowed five earned runs on nine hits. Addison Brown and Peyton Hawkins pitched in relief.
Carthage hosts Ozark on Thursday, while Webb City hosts Kickapoo and Rock Bridge on Saturday to end the regular season.
“We’ll see good competition on Saturday,” Friend said. “We’re looking forward to that. It’s a good opportunity for us to get some more at-bats before the district tournament.”
Carthage’s annual invitational will be held on Friday and Saturday before the postseason arrives next week.
