YSE File Photo
Webster County’s dominant start to the high school softball season continued in a big way Tuesday in Dixon. Behind a six-inning, 10-0 rout of Lyon County, the Trojans won for the fifth straight time to begin the year and are now outscoring their opponents by an eye-popping total of 70-2 in five games.
Mylee Whitledge hit the first Webster home run of the season to lead the offensive attack. Her two-run jack in the bottom of the fifth inning was one of eight extra-base hits during the victory. Jenna Shelley and Chloe Papineau each racked up a pair of doubles, giving the Trojans 21 total bases in the home triumph.
After a Shelley RBI groundout gave WCHS its first lead with one out in the first inning, Mallory Leath tacked on a pair of runs with her two-out, two-run single to abruptly put the Lyons behind 3-0. The Trojans then exploded for four two-out runs in the next inning, as Papineau, Jadeyn Jackson and Shelley all delivered run-scoring doubles in consecutive at-bats to put Webster ahead 7-0.
Papineau (4-0), who finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the three-hole, was equally effective in the circle. She threw just 76 pitches in the three-hit shutout and struck out a dozen to bring her season total to 30 in 19 2/3 innings. The Lyons managed just three hits, including a double by Courtney Collins, and walked just once against Webster County sophomore sensation.
Lilly Perry (0-4) gave up 11 hits and 10 runs in the complete-game defeat. She did strike out four Trojans. Lauren Davis and Cayelyn Downing had the other hits for Lyon County (0-5), which remained winless in 2023. The Lyons will try for their first victory when they host Calloway County at 6 p.m. Thursday.
