Johnson City beat Goldthwaite 22-2 on March 18 and Mason 22-0 on March 21, both on the road, to extend its district winning streak to seven games on the season.
In the two road games last week, Johnson City put up a run differential of more than 40 runs and wrapped up both games in just three innings of play. With the offense consistently scoring in bunches and the pitching keeping opponents at bay, head coach Brent Harris’s softball team is clicking as it continues its campaign for the playoffs.
“We’ve been hitting the ball pretty good lately, that’s key right there,” Harris said. “We’ve been playing well these last two or three games.”
Johnson City’s offense got to work quickly against Goldthwaite, scoring nine runs in the first inning. By the time junior starting pitcher Sara Kuvet faced a Goldthwaite batter, she had already hit two RBI singles. Senior Madison Marshall and sophomore Kendall Marshall each hit a two-run home run in the first inning as well.
Johnson City added two runs in the second inning and put the game out of reach with an 11-run third inning that saw home runs by sophomores Chloe Clark and Ema Davis. Behind Kuvet’s three innings and three strikeouts in the pitching circle, the Lady Eagles picked up another dominant win.
Kuvet and Davis each batted in five runs for Johnson City. Madison hit two home runs in the game, and Clark stole two bases. Every Johnson City batter recorded at least one hit and seven had multi-hit evenings at the plate.
Johnson City traveled to Mason last Friday for its second road game of the week. With a five-run first inning, the Lady Eagles picked up another strong start. The team’s offense found another level in the third inning with a 16-run inning. Johnson City batted around twice and advanced its lead to 22-0 by the time the inning came to an end. Senior starting pitcher Bo Crownover faced the minimum for the three-inning contest and also hit a home run in the third.
“The time and effort and work that (Crownover) puts in is pretty unbelievable. She takes a lot of extra cuts and stays after and does a lot of extra pitching,” Harris said. “She’s a fun one to coach.”
Davis again led Johnson City with five RBIs, while Crownover added four. Clark drove in two runs and walked in each of her four plate appearances.
Johnson City’s district season has reached its final five games, with one more against Mason and two each against San Saba and Center Point. The Lady Eagles have scored no fewer than eight runs in each district contest and have held every opponent to no more than three runs per game. Despite the team’s success so far this season, Harris stresses that the team cannot get complacent in its currently undefeated district campaign.
“We don’t take nobody lightly,” Harris said. “That old adage is ‘on any given day, somebody can come up and give you all they got’. So we take it one pitch, one inning, one game at a time and we see how that all works out in the end.”
Johnson City hosted Mason after press time Tuesday and hosts Center Point on Friday, March 28.
