The Columbus North softball team welcomed back starting pitcher Madisyn Prince for her first game of the year. She missed the first part of the season because of an ACL injury.
Unfortunately for Prince, she faced the Seymour batters at the wrong time. The Owls collected 15 hits for the game and as a result, the Bull Dogs were handed an 11-0 loss in six innings.
North coach Ron McDonald was surprised about how long Prince lasted in the game. She went five innings before being relieved by Charisma Boroughs.
“I thought maybe she would go one or two innings, but she made it to five,” McDonald said. “I was amazed at her stamina. The whole thing right now is building her stamina back up. Once she does that, I feel like we can turn the corner.”
McDonald is still waiting for a couple of more girls to get healthy. With Prince’s return, and once everyone comes back 100-percent healthy, McDonald says it will feel like a whole new season.
“We’re taking baby steps right now,” McDonald said. “Every game we improve. We’ll get better and better. After the Brown County Tournament (Saturday), we got Columbus East (on Monday). We are hoping to turn it around and start marching a little bit better toward the end of the season.”
Seymour didn’t waste any time in opening up the scoreboard. After Tori Snook and Haley Mobley singled to open the game, Rachel Kaufman drove them in with a triple. Lo Schmidt drove in Kaufman with a single for a 3-0 lead.
In the third, Faith Rebber led off with a double and later scored on a Schmidt double. Kate Snook stepped up to the plate and blasted a two-run shot for a 7-0 advantage. Later in the inning, Anna Bullard singled and scored on a Kaufman double to make it 8-0.
Owls starting pitcher Mikayla Moore had a no-hitter going into the fifth inning until it was broken up by a Bailey Lofton double. It was the only hit of the game for the Bull Dogs (0-7).
North had only two baserunners for the game. The other baserunner was on via error.
