Columbus 8u softball post 6-2 record

The Columbus Little League 8u softball team played eight games recently and posted a 6-2 record during those games.

The second loss for Columbus came in the championship game where they came up just short against Washington County.

They got things started with a hug 11-7 victory that saw them take an early 5-0 lead in the first inning. They added to their lead with one run in each of the second, third and fifth inning and then scored three more runs in the sixth.

Offensively Brynlynn Shifflett hit a double for Columbus and recorded two RBIs, one behind Haddie Busselman, who had three. Theresa Fitzgerald was in the circle for Columbus, and she pitched the whole game, striking out one batter.

In their next game Columbus picked up their second win of the tournament by a score of 12-4. Once again, they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first inning and just kept building on that lead throughout the game.

They scored one run in the second, five in the third and then once more in the fifth inning while giving up two runs each in the second and fourth inning. Josie Leyendecker, Theresa Fitzgerald, Logan Wright and Haddie Busselman all hit doubles in game two while Layla Henneke and Brynlynn Shifflett both hit two doubles.

Fitzgerald was back in the circle for Columbus, and she pitched the entire game again and struck out three batters.

On to game three now and Columbus’ winning ways followed them as they secured their third win of the tournament with a score of 13-5. By the end of the first inning five runs were scored, and Columbus held the lead like they had in the previous two games.

The kicker this time was Columbus scored only three of those five runs. With the score sitting at 3-2 Columbus’ offense went right back to work.

They scored four runs in the third inning and then three runs in the fourth and fifth inning while giving up one run in the third and two in the fifth for a final score of 13-5. Leyendecker and Wright both hit doubles while Shifflett hit three doubles on their way to a win and Fitzgerald hit the only triple for Columbus.

Once again Fitzgerald was in the circle, and she pitched all five innings striking out four batters.

Game four brought a bit of adversity for Columbus as it was their first loss of the tournament. They lost the game 5-2 as their late rally got cut short, and they were unable to complete the comeback.

Shifflett still hit a double which is her seventh double in four games. Fitzgerald was back in the circle and struck out four batters in five innings.

In their next three games Columbus dominated the competition and won all three games with a combined score of 34-8. During those game Fitzgerald hit one triple and two doubles, Haddie Busselman hit a double, Shifflett hit a double, Haidyn Busselman hit a double and Olivia Neal hit a double.

These three victories led Columbus to the Championship game where they took on Washington County in a battle for the gold.

The game started with Columbus leading by one run after the first inning. With a one run lead they extended their lead in the second inning by three runs and now had a 4-0 lead going into the bottom half of the second inning.

Washington County scored twice to cut Columbus’ lead in half, but Columbus responded with three more runs in the top of the third inning to make the score 7-2. Washington County then went on to score five runs in the fourth inning, then three more in the fifth to win the game 10-7.

Neal hit the only double for Columbus in the championship game and posted a perfect batting average alongside Shifflett.

It was a heck of a year for these young ladies and even though they lost in the championship game, they are still eager to hone their skills and come back even better next season.