After facing adversity, how you respond is huge. After an embarrassing 14-0 loss to Northwest in the second round of the Sept. 4 Fairbury Invitational, the response by the Malcolm softball team was as good as it could be. The Clippers knocked off the host team 6-2 to earn third place in the eight-team tournament.
After making quick work of Fillmore Central-Exeter-Milligan-Friend in a 10-1, five-inning win, the Class C No. 4 Clippers had to face the Class B No. 4 Vikings for a trip to the championship game. Northwest made its presence known early as the girls from Grand Island jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings.
“We played scared,” Malcolm coach Travis Meyer said. “They have a solid pitcher that throws hard and our girls got intimidated.”
The Clippers managed to get just two hits off Ava Laurent who struck out five in three-and-a-third innings.
“We were beat before it started,” Meyer said. “We need to be mentally stronger so we don’t fold in high-pressure situations.”
The Clippers' struggles carried onto the field as Malcolm committed five errors.
“You can’t give a team seven outs in a inning and expect to compete,” Meyer said.
Malcolm shook off the woes of the earlier game and responded well against No. 10 Fairbury in the third-place game. Led by the Helms sisters, the Clippers played their most complete game of the season.
Sophomore Ava Helms was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in while her older sister Jaiden, a senior, was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
“The score doesn’t necessarily show how well we played,” Meyer said. “It was a step we needed after our poor showing in the earlier game.”
Emma Brown – the Clippers’ number two arm – improved her record to 5-1 by allowing the Lady Jeffs just one hit through four innings.
“Emma has earned her time for sure,” Meyer said. “She’s attacking hitters more and it’s a good feeling knowing we don’t have to throw one kid all the time.”
The Clippers opened the week with an 8-2 win over Milford on a rainy Sept. 2 afternoon in Malcolm.
Alyssa Fortik and Alanea Babb each went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and one run batted in to lead Malcolm in the win over a pesky Milford club. Abbi Arroyo earned a complete game win in the circle.
“Perseverance won that game,” Meyer said. “We played poorly but we did just enough to win. If we’re going to have success down the road, we have to play better than that.”
Malcolm (8-5) traveled to Murray Sept. 7 to face Cass (2-8) before heading to Valparaiso Saturday, Sept. 11, for a triangular with Tekamah-Herman (4-6) and Raymond Central (6-7).
