Paige McDaniel
HOPE — It had been been close to a week since the Hauser softball team had a game, but the Class A No. 4 Jets showed no signs of rust when they hosted Lawrenceburg Saturday morning.
Hauser put up four runs in the second inning and then added a couple more in the fifth to come away with a 6-0 victory over the Tigers.
As good as the bats were swinging for the Jets, the defensive effort was even more impressive in very breezy conditions. Many of the Hauser fielders had to adjust mightily to the windy conditions to make spectacular catches.
“Some of the movement on the ball with the wind today was unbelievable. That wind was awful, but they played through it,” Hauser coach Andy Brunner said. “The adversity that this team continues to fight through, the little things like that or bigger issues as the season went on with schedules and rainouts, they keep their nose to the grindstone, and they go. It’s so much fun.”
Kyra Meister
The Jets (13-2-1) got on the board in the bottom of the second when Kyra Meister led off with a triple and then scored on a Maley Jordan single. Paige McDaniel then smacked a double to the outfield fence, and then a walk loaded the bases. Haylin Campbell grounded into a fielder’s choice at third base to score the second run of the inning. Lucie Asher then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third, and Izzy Brunner hit a single up the middle to score both runners for a 4-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Izzy Brunner reached first on an error, and then a long single from Hannah Taylor down the left-field line put runners on second and third. Meister then delivered a single to increase the lead to 6-0, which held as the final score.
For Hauser, Meister went 2 for 3 with a triple, Taylor was 2 for 3 and McDaniel and Bostic each went 1 for 3 with a double. The Jets outhit the Tigers 9-5.
McDaniel earned the win, going five innings and allowing four hits and five strikeouts in the shutout.
“It’s a really fun place to be in when I can ask them to do anything, and they’ll do it. On the field, they figure out how to get it done. I’m very happy,” Andy Brunner said. “I told them that they had an opportunity to go out here and make a statement. Looking at that scoreboard, I feel like we made a statement. I’m very happy with them.”
