Jennings County spoiled Columbus North’s senior night Tuesday, handing the Bull Dogs a 6-1 defeat.
The Panthers opened the game with a RBI-single from Mackenzie Byram to go up 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Brooke Bruin scored a run for the Bull Dogs in the bottom of the inning on the back end of an attempted double steal.
The score remained tied until Jennings County freshman Carrisa Sabelhaus hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. Jennings coach Bobby Willis said it took awhile for the Panthers to figure out the pitching of North’s Madisyn Prince.
“Madisyn Prince did a nice job early in the game of keeping us off balance,” Willis said. “I think the (home run) brought us to life a little bit. (Sabelhaus) is a freshman coming in a pinch-hit spot who doesn’t get a whole lot of opportunities with a runner and scoring position, and she came up big.”
Jennings (16-6) continued to score runs in the fifth inning. Amanda Bonesteel scored a run off of a North error, and Sabelhaus collected her second RBI of the day to bump the lead to 5-1. Kylee Matern scored the final run in the sixth inning for the Panthers on a Madi Skinner bunt.
Sabelhaus and Sidney Gerkin both went 2 for 3 for the Panthers. Bruin went 2 for 3 for the Bull Dogs (1-23).
North recognized two seniors — Kaitlin Panning and Prince. McDonald said his young players are growing up and is pleased with the direction the team is heading.
“We had senior night tonight, but the way it stands right now, we don’t have a senior night next year because we don’t have any juniors,” McDonald said. “We’ve got all sophomores and freshmen, and you can tell they are getting better and better every day. Hopefully, we finish the season strong … We were still in this game until the very end.”
