Wildcats, Bulldogs go to battle

On a chilly and windy evening at Hobbton High School, the women’s soccer, softball, and baseball teams faced off against Princeton. The inclement weather may have played a role in their performance, as both Lady Wildcats’ teams experienced losses: the softball team fell 15-5, while the soccer team lost 4-0. The baseball team remains undefeated after its 5-2 victory.

Soccer

On the soccer field, the game seemed evenly matched, yet the scoreboard didn’t accurately reflect this balance. The action was largely confined to the middle of the field, but whenever the Lady Bulldogs managed to create scoring opportunities, they proved highly effective.

Princeton scored their first goal at the 27:44 mark in the first half, transforming a closely contested match into a 1-0 lead. This goal ignited Hobbton’s offense, awakening a surge of offense. Just 30 seconds later, the Lady Wildcats launched an attack on the goal, but the Lady Bulldogs’ defense held firm. A minute later, Hobbton was back on the offensive, with a shot on goal narrowly missing its mark.

At the 13:50 and 12:22 marks, the Lady Wildcats continued to struggle to find the back of the net, unable to convert several chances into goals.

In contrast, the Lady Bulldogs benefited from a fortunate bounce when a ball that could have been cleared instead landed favorably for them. This led to a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper, which they capitalized on after firing the ball into the back of the net. With 9:01 remaining in the first half, Princeton took a 2-0 lead, a score that remained unchanged until halftime.

Out of the break, the Lady Wildcats quickly struck again, extending their lead up to 3-0 early in the second half.

As the pace of the game never really changed, Princeton tacked on one final goal about midway through the second half and reached the 4-0 tally that would prove to be the final score.

With the loss, Hobbton was 0-2-1 overall. They didn’t have any time to rest, though, as they were right back on the field on Friday against Trask.

Softball

What had initially been a closely contested game rapidly unraveled for the Lady Wildcats. Leading 5-2 after three innings, Hobbton was oblivious to the huge collapse that was about to unfold. The Lady Bulldogs staged a remarkable comeback, scoring 13 unanswered runs to force a fifth-inning run-rule, ultimately resulting in a decisive 15-5 victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, the Lady Wildcats strung together the offense to cut that margin in half. Claire Meyer led off with a single and later reached third following a wild pitch and a stolen base. Zannah Hairr came through with a single to center field, scoring Hairr to make it 2-1.

Now in the bottom of the second, Grace Harris got things started when she got aboard thanks to an error at second base. A passed ball moved her over to second and then a sacrifice grounder moved her to third. Another sacrifice by Meyer plated Hairr, tying things up at 2-2. Then, after Aubree McLamb scored on a single by Rosalia Morales, Hobbton took the 3-2 lead. That lead reached 4-2 when Hairr slapped a grounder that yielded another error, scoring Morales.

Hobbton plated one more run in the third before the big meltdown unfolded in the fourth. There, four runs pulled the Lady Bulldogs back in front as they now led 6-5. The Lady Wildcats weren’t able to answer in the bottom of the inning, setting a 9-run top of the fifth to propel the score to 15-5. Hobbton again was held at bay in the bottom of the fifth, which ended the game there with the 15-5 final score.

The Lady Wildcats were now 1-3 overall and were also scheduled to be right back on the field on Friday night.

Baseball

The weather was quite harsh on Thursday night as the Hobbton baseball team hosted Princeton out on the diamond. Biting cold temperatures and strong, gusty winds set the stage as the Wildcats looked to persevere their unbeaten start to the season. Hobbton achieved exactly that after rallying from an early deficit against the Bulldogs and securing a 5-2 win.

Princeton struck quickly in the top of the first inning, getting a leadoff double from Branson Flynn. With two outs, Cade Gurley hit a groundball that produced an error and scored Flynn, making it 1-0.

The Wildcats, though, answered right back in the bottom of the inning, generating two runs to take a lead they’d never relinquish. Cade Martin led things off with a double into left field and Ayden Lawson followed up with a walk to put two runners aboard with no outs. Kasey Lee hit a pop-fly into shallow center, which dropped to the ground, advancing Martin over to third. Lawson, however, was tossed out at second in the fray as he was caught in no-man’s land on the fly ball. During the next at-bat, though, Lee stole second to put both runners in scoring position. After Nathan Neal struck out, the Wildcats’ window of opportunity looked to be closing until Zack Aman ripped a double into center field, scoring both runners for the 2-1 lead.

Then in the bottom of the second inning, a pair of singles by Kade Corbett and Will Blackman again got runners in scoring position. A sac bunt by Lathan Warren moved the runners over and a pair of RBIs by Martin and Lawson drove them in for the 4-1 lead.

The scoring took a break in the third inning before Hobbton pushed the margin a little higher in the fourth. A lead off single by Warren got the junior aboard and a fielder’s choice moved him over to second. A single by Lee plated Warren, making it 5-1.

Down the stretch, the Bulldogs were able to earn just one run back in the top of the sixth, but were never to pose a serious threat from there as the Wildcats claimed the 5-2 victory.

Aman was the big man at the plate on Thursday, going 3-for-3 with three hits and two RBIs. Warren, Blackman, Martin, Lee, Ben Neal, and Corbett all had one hit apiece.

With the win, Hobbton stands at 4-0 overall. They were right back on the field on Friday, hosting Heide Trask, and next week, the Wildcats become good friends with the activity bus as they are slated to travel to Wallace-Rose Hill on Monday, Spring Creek on Tuesday, and Princeton on Thursday.