Winning a big road game for the second time in three days, the Houston High School softball team beat Ava 11-2 on Thursday in a South Central Association conference matchup between two squads with lofty postseason aspirations.
The visiting Lady Tigers got on the board first when senior Makinley Aaron banged a solo home run to left field in the top of the first inning (her seventh of the season to tie the program-high).
The Lady Bears evened the score with a run in the bottom of the frame, but Houston went ahead 3-1 in the top of the second with a run on an error and another on an RBI single by junior first baseman Ashley Gilbert.
The Lady Tigers then took control of the game in the top of the third, going on top 5-1 on a 2-run double by junior second baseman Katy Evans and leading 6-1 after Evans scored on an error.
After Ava added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Houston turned the contest into a rout with 4 runs in the top of the fifth.
The Lady Tigers closed out the scoring in the top of the sixth on a lead-off solo homer to left by Evans (her sixth of the campaign).
Houston finished the game with 12 hits. Evans had a big day with the bat, going 3-for-4 with a home run, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Gilbert also had 3 hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
Junior Lilly Kincaid had her best outing of the year in the pitcher’s circle for Houston, tossing a complete game while scattering 7 hits, striking out 3 and issuing only 1 walk.
Houston’s defense turned 2 double-plays in the game. One came in the first inning when junior right fielder Annabelle Westbrook caught a fly ball and then gunned down a runner trying to score from third base, with junior catcher Gracyn McNiell reaching to make the tag. The other came in the third frame when Evans scooped up a ground ball, stepped on second base and threw over to Gilbert.
The Lady Bears (10-4, 4-2 SCA) had only 1 extra-base hit in the contest and committed 3 errors. The Lady Tigers had 5 hits for extra bases and had only 1 miscue.
The Lady Tigers (12-7, 4-2 SCA) host Alton (4-7) on Monday (April 28) and travel to Mountain View on Tuesday to face Liberty in their final SCA game of the season.
