Offense fuels Redbirds past Shells
by Bill Roseberry March 22, 2018

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Abby Sullivan 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Abi Stahlhut 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Tami Wong 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Olivia Stangler 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 Phoebe Booher 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

 
Abby Scyoc 2-22-18.JPG
Photo by Bill Roseberry

ALTON — The Alton Redbirds are averaging 11.8 runs per game in 5 contests this spring.

Thursday proved to be another offensively fueled performance by Alton, as it defeated the Roxana Shells 15-5 in 6 innings at AHS. The Birds banged out 15 hits in the win and got hits from all 9 hitters in the lineup as they improved to 3-2.

Roxana dipped to 0-5 with the loss, despite muscling up for a trio of home runs. Junior Abi Stahlhut blasted 2 solo homers and senior Phoebe Booher added a 3-run shot to highlight the Shells’ offense.

Roxana staked itself to an early 1-0 lead when Stahlhut rifled her first round tripper, a line drive over the right centerfield fence.

The Redbirds were able to knot it at 1-1 in the second when freshman Lynna Fischer got a leadoff base knock and was driven home by fellow freshman Abby Sullivan with a RBI single. Sullivan banged out 3 hits in the win for Alton.

The Shells got things going with a 2-out rally in the top of the third. Kylie Winfree drew a walk in front of a Stahlhut single and set things up for Booher. The senior cleanup hitter turned on an inside pitch and tattooed it over the left field fence to make it 4-1 in favor of Roxana.

Unfortunately for the Shells the Birds weren’t going away. Tami Wong led off a third inning that saw 11 Redbirds step to the dish. Wong’s leadoff single was one of 7 hits for Alton in the 7-run frame.

Ashlyn Betz, Fischer and Sullivan all picked up RBIs, while Wong smacked a 3-run double in her second at-bat of the inning. Roxana’s first of 8 errors in the game helped fuel the Redbirds in the inning.

Alton scored twice in the fourth, three times in the fifth and twice more in the sixth to complete the short-game victory.

The Shells scored one more run on Stahlhut’s second homer of the game in the fifth. It mirrored the first one with another whistling line drive over the right centerfield fence. Stahlhut now has 4 homers in 5 games.

It was definitely an offensive day, as the two teams combined for 21 hits and only three total strikeouts. Abby Scyoc and Alyson Haegele each had a strikeout in the circle for AHS, while Taylor Nolan picked up one for Roxana. Scyoc earned the win for Alton.

The Redbirds return to action with a doubleheader at Jersey at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Shells battle Breese Central on the road at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

ALTON 15, ROXANA 5, 6 INNINGS

SHELLS       103 010 X — 5   6 8

REDBIRDS  017 232 X — 15 15  0

REDBIRDS (3-2) — Tami Wong 2-4 2B 3 RBIs, Abby Scyoc 1-4, Ashlyn Betz 2-4 2 RBIs, Miranda Hudson 1-4, Lynna Fischer 2-4 RBI SB, Rachel McCoy 1-3 SAC RBI, Abby Sullivan 3-4 2 RBIs, Darcie Flanigan 1-3, Rachel Rathgeb 2-4 RBI.

WP — Scyoc 5.0IP 1K 2BB 6H 5R 5ER

Alyson Haegele 1.0IP 1K 1BB 0H 0R 0ER

SHELLS (0-5) — Kylie Winfree 0-2 BB, Abi Stahlhut 3-3 2 HRs 2 RBIs, Phoebe Booher 1-3 HR 3 RBIs, Madison Klaas 2-2 BB, Taylor Nolan 0-2 BB.

LP — Nolan 5.0IP 1K 0BB 12H 13R 4ER

Booher 1.0IP 0K 0BB 3H 2R 1ER

Alton head softball coach Dan Carter talks about the strong offensive performance to come back and beat Roxana 15-5 in 6 innings on Thursday at AHS.

Alton's Tami Wong discusses the Redbirds strong offensive showing, including her 3-run double in a 7-run third winning vs. Roxana on Thursday.

Roxana head coach Mike Arbuthnot discusses the shaky defense and the difficulty in containing Alton's offense after taking an early lead at AHS on Thursday during a 15-5, 6-inning loss.