Baldwin, Lady Toppers celebrate senior night with a bang
Apr. 17—HOUSTON — Megan Baldwin was locked in on senior night.
The senior first baseman was 4 for 4 with four RBIs as No. 1-ranked Houston pulled away for a 12-1 win over Corinth on Friday.
Baldwin opened the game's scoring with an RBI double in the second inning, and she ended it with a two-run homer in the sixth to invoke the mercy rule.
"I knew this was going to be an important game for us, and I just got my mindset saying, 'You've got to do what you've got to do,'" Baldwin said.
She helped Houston (20-2) get going offensively after what was a slow start by its usual standards. The Lady Hilltoppers led 2-1 after three innings, then added two runs in the fourth before exploding for six in the fifth.
Houston finished the night with 13 hits. Six of those came in the fifth, with all the runs being scored with two outs.
"Two outs, senior-led group, that's what I expect out of them," coach Derick Kirby said. "I think that's what they expect out of themselves."
Freshman Blakely Gill nearly ended the game in the fifth with a bases-loaded drive to center field. But it hit the wall, so she settled for a three-run triple and a 10-1 lead for Houston.
Gill drove in four runs on the night.
Senior Paige Kilgore was her typical stingy self in the pitcher's circle. Kilgore (19-0) allowed just two hits and struck out 14.
Corinth (8-9) was playing shorthanded, as several of its players are competing in the state powerlifting championships this weekend. Still, coach Maggi Vondenstein was happy with how her team competed.
"A good team like Houston, they're going to make adjustments, and they did offensively, and we've got to be able to score runs and compete with them in that aspect," Vondenstain said.
Callie Pounders (0-4), an eighth grader, took the loss for Corinth.
Extra Bases
Big Inning: Houston's six-run fifth started with a solo home run by McKayla Crowley. Anna Claire Kirby had a two-run double, and then Gill smacked her bases-clearing triple.
Big Stat: Houston had five extra-base hits.
Coach Speak: "She's dialed in. She's seeing it. For some kids that's all you can say — she's seeing it right now." — Derick Kirby, on Baldwin
