Farmington pitcher blanks Lady Panthers

Graham Thomas/Siloam Sunday Farmington pitcher Addy Cassell picked up the win in the circle on Thursday for the Lady Cardinals in their three-inning victory over Siloam Springs.

Graham Thomas/Siloam Sunday Farmington pitcher Addy Cassell picked up the win in the circle on Thursday for the Lady Cardinals in their three-inning victory over Siloam Springs.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Farmington sophomore Addy Cassell did just fine Thursday in her first-ever varsity start for the Lady Cardinals softball team.

Cassell retired nine of the 10 batters she faced and Farmington scored runs in bunches in an 18-0 victory in three innings against Siloam Springs in a 5A/6A District 1 game at La-Z-Boy Softball Park.

Cassell has been the Lady Cardinals' junior varsity pitcher, but head coach Randy Osnes gave her the nod for Thursday's game against the Lady Panthers as regular varsity pitchers Madison Bogan and Paige Devecsery played designated player and third base, respectively.

"She's earned it," Osnes said of Cassell. "She's been throwing JV ball all year long. She's done an excellent job. She works extremely hard. She's got some good pitches, and she did a good job of keeping the ball down in the zone, throwing a lot of ground balls and a couple of fly balls to right field."

Siloam Springs senior Kenlie Noel ripped a one-out single to left field for the Lady Panthers' only hit against Cassell. Noel was the only Lady Panther to reach base as well.

Farmington's defense recorded five groundouts and three pop flys to go with one strikeout from Cassell.

Farmington led 7-0 after the first inning and 15-0 after two innings.

The Lady Cardinals took advantage of four walks and two hit batters in the first inning to set up big plays.

Kally Stout had an RBI single, and Alyssa Reed ripped a two-run double for the Lady Cardinals.

Siloam Springs (0-9, 0-6) walked four more batters and hit another two in the second inning. Shayley Treat and Camryn Journagan had two-run singles, while Carley Antwine had an RBI hit in the second.

"Their pitchers, at times, struggled with base on balls and hit a few of us," Osnes said. "Then we had a couple of hits that moved some folks around, a few more passed balls. They're struggling a little bit in the circle, and we took advantage of their mistakes."

Osnes substituted liberally in the third inning to try and get some varsity at-bats in for his JV players, and the Lady Cardinals still scored three more runs.

"The other runs that came in on top of 15 were all accidental," Osnes said. "We were trying to get some kids in (the game) and hit the ball somewhere."

Farmington could have scored more in the second and third innings, but Osnes had one runner get called out for leaving third base early in the second and two runners do the same in the third to limit the damage.

"No, you don't need to beat up on anybody worse than that," Osnes said.

The Lady Panther Invitational, scheduled for this past Friday and Saturday in Siloam Springs, was canceled on Thursday with the threat of inclement weather looming. It is not scheduled to be made up.

Siloam Springs is scheduled to return to action Tuesday at home against Harrison.

Sports on 04/08/2018