Paige McDaniel
HOPE — Since escaping with a one-run win at Edinburgh in its Mid-Hoosier Conference opener, the road to repeating as MHC softball champs has been far less rocky for Hauser.
The Jets won their third conference game in three days Friday, all coming via the 10-run rule. They followed a win in the rematch against Edinburgh on Wednesday with a victory at South Decatur on Thursday and a 15-3 triumph against South Decatur on Friday that clinched at least a share of the MHC title.
“It’s a good win,” Hauser coach Andy Brunner said. “If we handle the two games Monday and Tuesday night (against Morristown), we’ll finish undefeated in the conference again.”
The Jets (16-4, 10-0) jumped on the Cougars (4-16, 3-7) early Friday, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the first. Izzy Brunner had an RBI-triple, Hannah Taylor had an RBI-single, Kyra Meister had a two-run single and Reagan Johnson and Lucie Asher added RBI-singles in the inning.
Lucie Asher
Hauser added four more in the second and two in the third, highlighted by a two-run double by Kylie Mack. The Jets scored their final two runs in the third on a two-run double by Kylie’s sister, freshman Reagan Mack.
Paige McDaniel pitched two shutout innings before giving way to Reagan Mack for the final three. South Decatur plated a run in the fourth in an RBI-double by Brooklyn Powers and two in the fifth on a two-run single by Daisy Martin.
“(The Cougars) have a lot of rebuilding this year, and I feel for them,” Andy Brunner said. “But the girls show up, and they play and they’re working and growing. It gives us a chance to get everybody in the game and get everybody some more experience, which helps us, as well.”
All 15 players on the Jets roster saw action, and all 15 reached base at least once. Asher went 3 for 3 with three RBIs, and McDaniel and Johnson each went 2 for 2.
“I think that we already had an idea of what they were going to throw at us tonight, so it was easier to prepare,” McDaniel said. “We just came out here and had the right mindset and did our jobs.”
Hauser registered 14 hits against Martin.
“I thought Daisy pitched pretty good tonight,” South Decatur coach Lisa Huff said. “She hit a few batters, but all in all, it was one of the better games she’s pitched. She cut back on her walks, so I thought she did a lot better.”
Molly Eden went 2 for 3 to lead the Cougars at the plate.
“We got a few hits, so that was good,” Huff said. “We put the ball in play against Paige. We made some decent plays. We’re just still a work in progress, but we’re getting better every game.”
