YORK- No. 6 Crete struck early and often in defeating York, 8-0, Monday night in York. The Cardinals tallied a run in the first inning, five in the third and two in the fourth to build an eight-run lead in three-and-a-half innings, while senior pitcher Lexi Mach stymied the Dukes bats, holding them to just two hits and two walks while striking out seven and not allowing a runner to reach third base.
Crete took advantage of a York mistake to score in the first. With one out, Leah Jurgens hit a pop up to shortstop that was dropped, allowing Jurgens to move to second. With two outs, Cassidy Skillet drove a ball to the wall in left-center field, scoring Jurgens to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Then in the third, Kaitlyn Wendt led off with a single to left. Jurgens followed with a two-run home run to the opposite field in left field to push the lead to 3-0. With one out, Cassidy Skillet was hit by a pitch. Karlee Henning doubled to left, moving Skillet to third. With two in scoring position, Mackenzie Steuer singled up the middle, scoring Skillet while moving Henning to third. A two-run single to center scored Henning and Steuer to push the lead to six.
A two-out rally in the fourth pushed Crete’s lead to the eight runs needed to end the game by the mercy rule. After the first two batters were retired, Skillet singled to left, then moved to third when Henning doubled to right. A Steuer two-run single to left gave the Cardinals an 8-0 lead.
That was more than enough for Mach, who only allowed two hits while walking two. She retired 12 of the last 14 batters she faced with seven strikeouts all coming in that span. Mach’s record moved to 6-5 with the win. Meghan Rowe took the loss for York, allowing five earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. Steuer paced the Cardinals offense going three-for-three with three RBI, while Jordyn Coe was two-for-three with two runs batted in. Seven of the nine Crete starters got at least one hit.
York (6-7) will head to Holdrege (7-11) Tuesday, while Crete (8-5) will take on Grand Island Central Catholic (13-4) Tuesday.
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