HESPERIA – Hart softball spent the majority of Tuesday, April 22 crushing pitches from Hesperia, leading them to a fairly easy sweep of the Panthers.
The first game of the day lasted just three innings as Hart jumped all over Hesperia en route to a 20-2 victory. 12 of those runs came in the first half inning as the Pirates lived in the nightmares of Hesperia pitcher Olivia McGahan.
After turning a single, two doubles and several Hesperia errors into a 6-0 lead, Hart felt comfortable with the ground they had gained. With two outs, Kelsey Copenhaver stepped to the plate for the Pirates.
Copenhaver eyed Emma Thomas, Mackenna Carrier and Caydence Bateson on the basepaths, knowing the opportunity that stood before her. Three balls and one strike later, Copenhaver turned on a pitch from McGahan and watched it fly over the left field fence for a grand slam.
Hart added two more runs before the Panthers were able to end the inning, leading to a 12-0 deficit. Hesperia added two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, as Delanie Smith and Olivia Gerard crossed the plate on wild pitches from Reese Smith.
The Pirates continued to deliver punishment in the second inning, despite recording back-to-back outs on the first at-bats of the frame. Hart earned two walks, reached two runners that were hit by pitches, capitalized on two Hesperia errors and recorded a pair of singles – one from Kora Hiddema and the other from Carrier – to push the lead to 18-2.
Hesperia couldn’t find any ground after that point, leading to a crushing loss that saw Smith face just 14 batters through three innings. Smith allowed just one hit for Hart, while striking out two.
Maryn Klotz led all Hart batters with three hits, while Carrier, Smith and Cali Eisenlohr each had two. Klotz and Copenhaver led the game with four runs batted in (RBIs) each.
The nightcap game was a bit slower in pace, but just as dominant for Hart in a 14-0 victory. Copenhaver delivered a full game of work (five innings), tossing a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to boot.
Bateson led the Pirates, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, while Copenhaver and Leah Walker each added three RBIs as well.
Hart bettered its overall record to 7-3 with the victories, improving to 4-2 in the WMC Rivers. Hesperia fell to 0-8 with the pair of losses.
