Depending on who's batting, crooked numbers in an inning can be a very good thing. But for the case of the Lady Pintos, it was not.
The Lady Mustangs scored a five-spot in the first and fifth innings on their way to a five-inning, 11-1 win against California (2-4, 0-1 Tri-County Conference).
"They got some key hits, you know, an error here, and pretty soon you get two or three runs put up on you," head coach Darrell Bolin said. "To put a nickle on us both times, anytime you get crooked numbers on the scoreboard, it's not going to be a good thing."
In the first inning, the first three Eldon batters reached on an error, a hit by pitch and a bunt to load the bases. All three runs scored one batter later after a passed ball score one, then a single scored the next two.
"We had moments where we kind of slid backwards a little bit," Bolin said. "We made some mistakes."
California made four errors in game and was out-hit 7-2.
Eldon was able to score a sixth run in the second, but California's starting pitcher, freshman Destiny Cook, settled into the game during the next couple of innings.
"Destiny did a really good job," Bolin said. "With the freshman coming in, it was her first start. ... She threw strikes, made them put the ball in play and you really can't ask for more than that from a freshman. I'm very proud of the effort she put forward."
While Cook did allow 10 runs, only two runs were earned, and she had two 1-2-3 innings in her five innings of work.
The Lady Pintos did have scoring chances early in the game, plating one run in the second. But, California ran into some outs on the base paths.
Kaylee Vanloo singled to lead off the first inning, but was caught stealing for the second out. Ashlyn Moore swiped second base in the second inning, but ran into an out at third base.
"I liked the aggressive base running that we did, even though we got some runners out, they were still being aggressive," Bolin said. "Give Eldon credit, they made the plays when they had to in that situation."
The aggressiveness paid off later in inning, as Jenna Reynolds slid under the tag at third base to put her in prime scoring position. She later scored when Samantha Beckham reached on an infield error.
After Eldon was put-out in order in the third and fourth innings, The Lady Mustangs plated five more runs in the fifth to set up the run-rule.
Despite the loss, Bolin has seen a lot of improvement from his team during the first couple of weeks of the season.
"From the jamboree to now, a lot of it is just maturity, and the girls having a lot of faith in the each other in them doing what they know they need to do," he said. "They're willing to put in the time and the effort to do it right. They don't want to ever leave practice on bad plays."
One thing Bolin stressed to his team during the jamboree last month was their lack of communication on the field. He's seen that change during the first six games.
"Our communication has improved 10-fold from our jamboree," Bolin said. "That alone helps keeps the players involved and understand what's going on. It just keeps them focused."
California is scheduled to play in the Prairie Home Softball Tournament Saturday, then host Warrensburg on Tuesday at 5 p.m.