Lady Broncos fight weather conditions to earn league win

The Lady Broncos had a bittersweet weekend resulting in a split game against the Liberty Lancers on Saturday, April 8, in a league doubleheader.

Head Coach Todd O’Brien said the weather conditions tremendously affected the team’s performance during the games.

With high winds and a mix of rain and snow, O’Brien said the team had difficulty maintaining a grip on the ball in the field and on the mound.

The slick ball impacted the accuracy of Emma Aldrich’s pitching, as she would often lose the ball during the wind up, he explained.

Despite the occasional fielding errors, O’Brien said the team competed well on defense as they were determined to not allow the Lady Lancers to use the weather conditions to their advantage.

The Lady Lancers claimed one hit in the first inning during the game resulting in a home run. O’Brien said the hit affected the Lady Broncos’ confidence as they grew determined to overcome the weather conditions.

Liberty’s pitcher showcased advanced skill by throwing accurate and fast pitches, said O’Brien.

He stated Liberty’s pitchers have been mediocre in the past, and the advanced skill at the mound caught the Lady Broncos off guard.

Aldrich continued to struggle to maintain a grip on the ball and walked 10 batters in the game, said O’Brien. While on base, he said the Lady Lancers were quick to steal bases and make instinctive runs.

The high number of walks also allowed the Lady Lancers to score additional runs, as they were ahead 5-0 at the end of the second inning.

With frustrations growing at the mound, O’Brien said he looked to the defense to make plays to prevent Liberty from increasing their lead.

Liberty claimed the win in the first five innings, 10-0.

O’Brien said the team grew determined to compete better in the second game as the weather conditions improved.

Their goal for the second game was to limit the number of walks, and make contact with the ball, he explained.

The team started the game strong by being aggressive at the plate, stated O’Brien. After familiarizing themselves with the pitcher’s speed, he said the Lady Broncos began making solid contact with the ball and claimed nine hits.

Tessa O’Brien and Lacey Miller each had one single. Emily Rosen, Alarah Pierce-Pulliam and Aldrich all hit one single and a double, and Emily Kinney had a single and a triple.

The team claimed the lead in the first inning 3-0.

O’Brien said in order to keep up with the pitcher’s speed, the Lady Broncos had quick hands at the plate and swung early in the count.

With a fast and accurate pitcher, O’Brien said the team knew the ball would always be in the strike zone, which made it easy to hit.

The increase in hitting allowed the LRS team to maintain the lead until Liberty scored four runs in the second inning.

The teams continued to battle for the lead as Liberty scored a fifth run in the third inning.

In the fifth inning, the Lady Broncos tied the ball game by scoring two runs and being quick to throw batters out.

The Lady Broncos showcased strong defense in the sixth inning in an attempt to prevent the Lady Lancers from scoring additional runs.

Aldrich assisted in earning the outs by striking out a batter and quickly throwing the ball to make plays at the bases.

After preventing Liberty from scoring runs in the second inning, the Lady Broncos claimed the win 7-6.

The Lady Broncos will now spend practices preparing for a non-league game against Davenport on April 11 and a doubleheader against Colfax on April 14.

He anticipates Davenport to have a strong pitcher and he hopes the team will adjust to the speed early in the game.

O’Brien said he is looking forward to the Colfax game because he believes the teams have similar skill levels.

As an undefeated team, he said Colfax’s roster contains strong hitters and the Lady Broncos will need to be consistent on defense to earn the win.

The Lady Broncos host Colfax on Friday, April 14, at 2 p.m.