Wewa softball earns blowout win over Mosley

The Wewahitchka Lady Gators started last week with an impressive 13-2 win at 6A Mosley on Monday, April 10, but saw their five-game win streak halted at home by Trenton on Friday, April 14. 

Mosley briefly enjoyed a 2-1 lead after the first inning, but Wewa immediately tied the score the next inning and added four more runs in the third to go ahead 6-2. 

Three more Gator runners crossed the plate in the fourth, and Wewa made sure the game ended after five innings with four more runs in the fifth. 

After allowing the two Dolphin runs in the first, Wewa pitcher Severa Haney shut the door on further Mosley scoring, and ended the game with a three-hitter to send the Dolphin record to 4-16. 

Laiken Ferrell and Savana Mayhann led the Gator charge with three hits each, and both scored two runs. One of Ferrell’s hits was a triple, and she drove in three, while Mayhann drove in two. 

Madison Forehand and Emma Rustin both had a double and a single, scored a run and batted in one. 

Ashley Thompson hit a triple, scored twice, and drove in a run. Twin sister Hope also had a hit, scored two runs, and drove in two. 

Keersten Easter had a hit and an RBI, Eden Rustin had a hit and scored two runs, and Jaliyah Addison had a hit. 

Against Trenton on Friday, the Gators held a 4-1 lead through four innings before the Tiger offense woke up with a vengeance on their way to a 14-4 win. 

Easter got the ball rolling for Wewa with a one-out single to right field in the second inning, followed by an infield hit by Jordyn Ashby. 

After a groundout, Eden Rustin hit safely to the 5-6 hole, scoring Easter and allowing Ashby to advance to third base. 

When Rustin bluffed a steal, the Tiger catcher tried to catch Ashby napping off the bag, but her throw sailed into the outfield which gave Ashby an easy route home for the second run of the inning. 

Trenton got one of the runs back in the third, and two sparkling defensive plays prevented more scoring. 

With no outs and a runner at second, the next batter stroked a single to left field, but Emma Rustin’s throw home beat the runner by at least six steps for an easy out. 

Two more hits brought the first run home, and with runners at first and second, Eden Rustin ranged to her right to glove a hard hit grounder and tagged the runner out to end the inning and preserve the slim Gator lead.

Wewa added its final two runs in the fourth. Once again Easter started the rally, this time with a one-out double to right field. 

After a strikeout, Haney followed with an infield hit between home plate and the pitcher. With Easter at third, Haney’s courtesy runner Auburn Nunnery stole second and both runners scored on Eden Rustin’s single to center field. 

This caused a Trenton pitching change to 8th grader Addison Allaire. In addition to collecting a home run among her three hits, she drove in five runs. As pitcher, she would allow only two Gator hits and strike out nine. 

Wewa held a 4-1 lead going into the fifth inning, and that is when the bottom dropped out for the Gators. 

The first Tiger batter hit a bomb over the left field fence. The next batter followed with a bomb over the center field fence, but Wewa still had a 4-3 lead. 

Two outs later, the hit parade began. A single, a double, and a single added two more Tiger runs to the scoreboard for a 5-4 lead. 

After a walk and another run-scoring single, Gator coach Justin Smith brought Ashby to the circle, but the third out proved to be elusive as Trenton cleared the bases with a double for a 9-4 lead. 

Haney returned to pitch after a hit batter, but another double added two more runs before the inning finally ended with Trenton leading 11-4. 

In their half of the fifth, Ferrell and Hope Thompson reached on infield hits, but Allaire struck out the side with no runs scored. 

The Tigers added two more runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh for their final margin of victory, although Smith objected to the final run when he said that the runner had left third base early on a sacrifice fly, but the base umpire had apparently failed to view the play, and ruled that the runner had safely scored. 

Ashley Thompson led off the Gator seventh with a walk and worked her way to third base, but a strikeout ended the game. 

“We’re still doing good,” said Wewa pitcher Severa Haney after the game. “I just feel like tonight should never have happened like that.” 

Although MaxPreps shows Wewa having a 7-9 record, Smith said that the Sneads game had been ruled a forfeit win in their favor due to an umpiring issue.

Of the Trenton loss, Smith said “This game was a challenge for us. And that’s what we look for; the rest of the way is (full of) challenges. So when the district tournament gets here, no matter who we play, everybody’s record is 0-0.” 

“So we’re trying to keep them positive,” he added. 

The challenges continued for the Gators, with a contest against 15-5 Arnold on Monday, April 17, followed by a visit from 10-6 Wakulla on Tuesday. Both are 4A schools. 

Wewa will play at 3-17 Blountstown on Thursday, April 20.