By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL — Mitchell began their 2024-25 campaign on Tuesday, welcoming Barr-Reeve to Parker Field for the season opener.
Despite a couple of solid innings from the Bluejackets, the Vikings were the ones who eventually went home with a 12-6 win.
Barr-Reeve got started with a 1-0 lead early, thanks to a lead-off triple from Sydney Wilson, who scored on a ground-out the next at-bat.
After both sides were held scoreless in the second, the Vikings picked back up in the third inning, scoring five more runs on four hits, to take a 6-0 lead.
Bluejackets head coach Christa Mullis noted the youth in her lineup, which includes multiple freshman, when discussing the rocky early-goings of the game, saying she felt it likely took some time for her players to get adjusted in their first game.
“We started some freshmen in our lineup. They’re going to be assets to us, no doubt about it. First game jitters, kind of got the best of us here. I think we definitely could have had a scrimmage and that would have helped some of us, but it just didn’t work out this year to have that scrimmage,” she said. “So, a lot of this take away that first inning, maybe even part of the second, first game jitters, I feel like the score didn’t really reflect on how these girls really played this game.”
Mitchell found their way onto the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the third frame, when Davaney Roop slammed a pitch over the center field wall, knocking in three runs for the Bluejackets and cutting Barr-Reeve’s lead down to three.
“That girl has been absolutely smoking the ball. I mean, just absolutely lacing it,” said Mullis about what she’s seen from Roop this year. “I’m scared to death to BP with her because if you’re not paying attention, you’re going to get hit.”
The Vikings responded quicky, scoring another four runs in the top of the fourth inning and tacking on another one in the fifth to go up 11-3.
Both sides added another run to their totals before heading into the bottom of the seventh, where the Bluejackets found themselves with their backs against the wall, trailing by eight runs with just three outs remaining.
They started the inning off strong, with their first three batters reaching base, including an RBI double from Natalee Nissley. They kept things rolling with a sacrafice fly from Paisley Modglin in their next at-bat to chip away another run from Barr-Reeve’s lead before a double play wrapped up the game.
In addition to her seventh inning RBI knock, Nissley pitched a complete game for Mitchell, striking out two.
“She did a great job pitching,” said Mullis. “She has just impressed me as a sophomore fighting through that. That’s not necessarily her favorite position. She doesn’t necessarily love it, but she could have fooled me.”
Though not the way Mullis and her team were looking to start the season, she noted that this is only the beginning for her young team, as she expects to see plenty of growth throughout the year.
“I feel like we only go up from here. So, again, not the outcome we were hoping for, but that was a really solid hitting team. We have some new girls in our outfield this year, and I felt like they played the ball very well,” she said.
“I feel like we are doing better communicating, backing each other up, movement on the field more than anything this year. Our pitching is a little bit on the younger side, so, again, she did a great job. She moved the ball, didn’t have a lot of walks. As a coach, that’s what you’re looking for, not a lot of walks. You’re making your defense work and she did that. Again, I feel like we only go up from here.”
Barr-Reeve Vikings
LINEUP
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Wilson #2 (C) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kennedy Huff #7 (P, 3B) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Addison Jones #13 (SS) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hallie Knepp #14 (2B) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Natalie Stoll #30 (RF) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Haley Huff #25 (3B, P) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucy Wirtz #9 (CF) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirra Stoll #31 (LF) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lilly Lottes #5 (1B) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTALS: 38 AB, 12 R, 16 H, 3 BB, 2 SO
TEAM NOTES
- SB: Sarah Graber
- TB: Natalie Stoll 1, Kennedy Huff 4, Lucy Wirtz 1, Addison Jones 5, Haley Huff 2, Hallie Knepp 4, Sydney Wilson 4, Kirra Stoll 1
- 2B: Kennedy Huff, Addison Jones, Hallie Knepp (2)
- E: Addison Jones 3, Haley Huff
- SB: Sydney Wilson
PITCHING
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Huff #7 (W) | 6.0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Haley Huff #25 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- TEAM TOTALS: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
- Pitches-Strikes: Kennedy Huff 83–52, Haley Huff 8–5
- Batters Faced: Kennedy Huff 30, Haley Huff 2
Mitchell Bluejackets
LINEUP
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teague #9 (RF) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nissley #8 (P) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Roop #5 (SS) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Modglin #00 (LF) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chastain #57 (1B) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Drake #10 (C) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cooper #12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown #35 (3B) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Manues #2 (2B) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pruett #19 (2B) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTALS: 30 AB, 6 R, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 SO
TEAM NOTES
- E: Roop, Manues (2), Pruett
- TB: Brown 1, Chastain 2, Teague 1, Roop 5, Nissley 2, Modglin 1
- 2B: Chastain, Nissley
- SB: Teague, Nissley
- HR: Roop
PITCHING
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nissley #9 (L) | 7.0 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
- Pitches-Strikes: Nissley 100–57
- Batters Faced: Nissley 41
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