Lady Hound softball wins district opener

The Lady Hound softball team extended its season at least two more days with a 9-2 win over fifth-seeded Lafayette Thursday in the opening round of the Class 3 District 16 Tournament at Heritage Park in St. Joseph.

Fourth-seeded Maryville jumped on top of Lafayette 4-0 in the bottom of the first and was never threatened the rest way thanks to a strong outing from starter Mikaila Wallace. She struck out nine and gave up just three hits in seven innings.

"Mikaila settled into the game and challenged the hitters," said Maryville head softball coach Tom Scarbrough. "We got the defensive stops we needed and continued to play great defense the entire game. The fun part about this game is we got everyone in."

Maryville's four-run top of the first was keyed by timely hitting and a few Lafayette miscues.

Wallace and senior Baylee Scarbrough combined for four of Maryville's eight hits in the game. One of

Scarbrough's two hits was a three-run homer that broke the game open. Blair Twaddle added an RBI ground-rule double.

"All those girls compete every pitch," said Scarbrough. "None more so than Mikaila and McKenzie (Wallace)."

Maryville plays top-seeded Smithville (17-8) in the semifinals Saturday at 11 a.m.

The two teams met nine days prior in Maryville, with the Warriors taking a 5-0 win.

"I don't think we played our best last week when we played them," said Scarbrough. "I'm hoping we come ready to play and get a chance to play two on Saturday."