TENNERTON – Jansen Kimble was sharp in the circle for the Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Buc softball team as she led them to a pair of easy victories this week.
It didn’t hurt that Kimble was aided by a Buckhannon-Upshur offense that scored 28 runs in those two games.
On Tuesday, the Lady Bucs made the trip to Kingwood and earned 17-1 victor over the Preston Knights and then had little trouble getting past North Marion on Thursday winning an 11-0 contest over the Huskies.
Both games were halted in the fifth inning on the mercy rule.
In the two games, Kimble pitched nine innings and gave up just seven hits and one earned run while striking out 11.
“Against North Marion, my drop ball and curve were working the best,” said Kimble about her shutout win over the Huskies. “I feel like when all of my pitches are working as they should, I’m much more successful which is why I had seven strikeouts against the Huskies.”
The seven strikeouts against North Marion was a career high for the sophomore twirler.
Kimble also credited her battery mate, freshman catcher Alyssa Abel for her success.
“Although Alyssa is only a freshman, she is doing really well behind the plate, not only catching but calling pitches for me as well,” said Kimble.
Against Preston, the Lady Bucs scored in every inning in the 16-run win.
They built an 11-0 advantage before Preston scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
The Lady Bucs pushed across six runs in the top of the fifth as the game was called on the mercy rule at the end of the fifth.
B-U had 11 hits in the win and took advantage of six walks and five Preston errors.
Robin Ball, Taylor Spratt, Able, and Katarah Linger each had two hits to pace the offense while Shelby McDaniels knocked in four runs.
“We played well against Preston,” said Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Levi Bender. “Jansen threw well and our hitters didn’t chase pitches. We saw them implement what we’ve been working on with swing mechanics. All three facets or our game were solid. It was nice getting into the win column after a tough weekend where we played well enough to win but just came up short.”
Against North Marion, the Lady Bucs put Huskies away early with a seven-run first inning that was highlighted by an inside the park grand slam by Abel.
“The North Marion player just took forever to get to the ball,” noted Bender. “Abel drove one down the left field line and it kind of spun. I don’t know if she thought it was in dead territory and didn’t go for it. I am not sure what happened but we just kept running.”
Ball started the first inning with a solo home run.
B-U added a run in the bottom of the second and three more in the bottom of the fourth for the 11-run win.
The Lady Bucs had nine hits in the victory as Ball, McDaniels and Abel each had two hits. Abel ended the game with five RBIs.
The two wins improved the Lady Bucs to 2-3 on the season.
“I think we easily could be 4-1,” said Bender. “I don’t think our record says who we are. We battle and we fight. Right now, we aren’t beating ourselves. We are playing all three facets of the game the right way. We are trending the right way.”
The Lady Bucs will be back in action Monday at Grafton. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
The boxscore:
Buckhannon-Upshur 216 26 – 17
Preston 000 10 – 1
E – Buckhannon-Upshur 0; Preston 5. DP – None. LoB – Buckhannon-Upshur 7; Preston 4. 2B – McDaniels; Ball. 3B – Spratt, Abel. HR – Myers. SF – Kimble. SB – Spratt 3; Hart, Robingson, Linger, Kimgle, Wilt.
Hitting
Buckhannon-Upshur – Robin Ball 3b, 5 2 2 1; Shelby McDaniels ss, 2 0 1 4; Brooklyn Robinson 2b, 3 3 1 1; Taylor Spratt 1b, 4 3 2 1; Meghan Bailey cf, 4 1 0 0; Jansen Kimble p-rf, 2 1 0 1; Kailey Hart lf, 2 2 1 1; Morgan Frame lf, 1 0 0 0; Alyssa Abel c, 3 3 2 2; Katarah Linger rf-p, 3 2 2 2; Quinn Burnside rf,1 0 0 0. Totals 30 17 11 13.
Preston – Harley Wilt lf, 2 0 0 0; Alexis Miller p-1b, 3 0 0 0; Dalaynie Myers c, 2 1 1 1; Samantha Carrico 1b-p, 2 0 0 0; Shyanne Owens ss, 2 0 1 0; Bailey Smith cf, 0 0 0; Nevaeh Bolyard 3b, 1 0 0 0; Chloe Bolyard 2b, 2 0 0 0; Reise Friend rf, 1 0 0 0. Totals 17 1 2 1.
Pitching
Buckhannon-Upshur – Kimble (W, 1-2): 4 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts; Linger: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 1 wild pitch.
Preston – Miller (L): 4 2/3 innings, 9 hits, 15 runs, 9 earned runs, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 hit batsman (McDaniels); Carrico: 1/3 of an inning, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts.
North Marion 000 00 – 0
Buckhannon-Upshur 710 3 – 11
E – North Marion 2; Buckhannon-Upshur 1. DP – None. LoB – North Marion 5; Buckhannon-Upshur 7. 2B – Floyd, McDaniels. HR – Balll Abel . SB – McDaniels 2, Linger, Robinson.
Hitting
North Marion – Isabella Brescoach p, 3 0 0 0; Jaylen Schell 1b, 3 0 0 0; Hayley Smith cf, 2 0 1 0; Ashley Winans 3b, 2 0 0 0; Adrianna Floyd c, 2 0 1 0; Angelina Collins lf, 2 0 1 0; Alyssa Kincaid ss, 2 0 0 0; Adriana Heater rf, 2 0 1 0; Abby Beveridge 2b, 2 0 1 0. Totals 20 0 5 0.
Buckhannon-Upshur – Robin Ball 3b, 3 2 2 2; Shelby McDaniels ss, 2 1 2 2; Brooklyn Robinson 2b, 3 0 0 0; Taylor Spratt 1b, 2 1 1 0; Meghan Bailey cf, 2 2 1 0; Jansen Kimble p, 3 1 1 0; Kailey Hart lf, 1 1 0 0; Quinn Burnside lf, 0 1 0 0; Alyssa Abel c, 3 1 2 5; Katarah Linger rf, 2 1 0 0. Totals 21 11 9 9.
Pitching
North Marion – Brescoach (L): 4 innings, 9 hits, 11 runs, 8 earned runs, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts, 3 hit batsmen (Bailey, Ball, Robinson).
Buckhannon-Upshur – Kimble (W, 2-2): 5 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts.
