Highland Earns Win Over Canton as Both Teams Look Ahead to ‘Londyn’s Love’ Game

Canton, MO – The Highland Cougars used a huge fourth inning to pull away from the Canton Tigers, taking game one of the Lewis County Showdown with an 11-1 win Tuesday night.

Both teams sent their aces to the circle, with Brenna Brewer starting for Canton and Abby Lay for Highland. The Cougars broke through first in the second inning when Allie Lundberg reached on an error, a sac bunt would put her at third and a passed ball would score. Canton answered in the bottom half as Claire Whiston drew a walk, Brewer singled, and Kadence Taylor delivered an RBI hit to tie the game at 1-1.

Highland threatened again in the third with the bases loaded, but the Tigers held firm to escape the jam. Lay then kept Canton in check with a pair of strikeouts to bring the Cougars back to the plate in the fourth.

That’s when the Cougar bats came alive. Two Tiger errors opened the door before Lay helped herself with a two-RBI single. Manda Jennings added an RBI base hit, Darnell and Corrine Brinkley drove in runs on fielder’s choices, and Kierra Rothweiler notched her second hit to push the lead to 9-1. Canton turned to Izzy Ruffcorn in relief, but Highland tacked on two more runs with a sac fly and RBI single to make it 11-1.

“We played great except for one inning,” Canton coach Kevin Jarvis said. “Brenna and Izzy both pitched well, but a few errors and some tough breaks really hurt us. I’m proud of the girls—we clean it up, and we’ll play right with them.”

Ruffcorn and the Tiger defense settled in from there, allowing just one hit the rest of the way. But Lay closed the door with a strikeout in the fifth to seal the run-rule win.

Highland coach Paul Scifres said it was a good win against a strong opponent. “They’ve got a great program and tradition, and that’s why we always want to play them twice. We knew it would be a battle, and it was for a while.”

Highland improves to 11-4 on the season and will travel to Kirksville on Thursday. Canton falls to 5-6 and heads to Silex the same day.

Londyn’s Love for Lewis County

Both teams will meet again on Monday the 22nd for the “Londyn’s Love for Lewis County” game at Highland. Coaches on both sides expressed their excitement for the cause. “It’s good, it’s a great cause,” said Scifres. “We’re proud to be a part of it. Girls have fun with it and what it does for the community is such an important thing. More important than anything we’re doing on the field softball wise.”

Jarvis agreed, saying, “It’s a great event, glad we could be a part of it, and share it back and forth every year, who gets to host. We got our special uniforms for it and the girls, they love the event…But it is a big game and we will be ready for it and it will be a better game come Monday.”

KEY STATS

Highland:

Abby Lay (W); 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K; At Bat; 3-4, 2 RBI

Kierra Rothweiler; 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R

Manda Jennings; 2-1, 1 RBI, 1 R

Canton:

Brenna Brewer (L); 3.1 IP, 10 H, 11 R; At Bat 1-2

Taylor; 1-2, 1 RBI

Claire Whiston; 0-1, 1 R