The Mount Pleasant Lady Tigers softball team opened up the 2023 season by doubling up on the Lindale Eagles 8-4 in front of the home crowd at Lady Tiger Field Tuesday evening.

Mount Pleasant jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the home half of the first inning on a Kelsey Howard double down the left field line. Kaylee Silman led off the game with a walk and two pitches later stole second before Howard knocked in the game’s first run. Jordan Batchelor followed with a single up the middle, but Howard was thrown out at home trying to score. Morgan Hill added a single and courtesy runner Katy Boldin scored on an RBI ground out by Amariya Miller to give the Lady Tigers the early advantage.

The Lady Tigers added another pair of runs in the bottom of the third, extending their lead to 4-0. Silman walked again to start the frame. With one-out, Silman swiped second base and scored on a double by Batchelor pushing the score to 3-0. Boldin, running for Batchelor, scored on a two-out double from Miller to finish the scoring in the inning.

The Lady Tigers extended their lead to 7-0 in the home half of the fourth inning. Lakyn Fortenberry and Jenna Cook led off the inning with walks. With one out, Silman drew her third walk of the game to load the bases. Howard delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Fortenberry. Batchelor plated pincher runner Jakeivia Williams and Silman with a two-RBI single to center.

Lindale would cut into the Lady Tiger lead in the top of the fifth, rallying for four runs on four hits, cutting the Mount Pleasant lead to 7-4.

After hitting into a double play to start the sixth, the Lady Tigers added an insurance run to cap the scoring. Silman, Howard, and Batchelor connected on three straight singles scoring a run before Hill lined out to end the frame.

Batchelor (1-0) picked up the win inside the circle for the Lady Tigers. She allowed four runs on four hits, while striking out 14 in the complete game performance. At the plate, she had four hits and four RBI. Howard added a pair of hits, while Silman was on base five times for the Lady Tigers.

“It was a good first win,” said head coach Jeremy Tarrant. “You always want to start the season 1-0 and especially at home. We got some timely hits and Jordan [Batchelor] pitched well. We made some baserunning mistakes that we need to clean up, but overall, we are pleased with our start.”

The Lady Tigers will begin tournament play this weekend as they will travel to Celina.

By Drew Barkley
Photos by Dana Tarrant