Thousands of hours of work from the community of Princeton came to fruition on Monday night, with the Russ Derry Athletic Complex opening with a 6-5 Lady Tiger softball win over Milan, in a softball contest on KTTN FM 92.3.
The complex itself is not fully completed, with an adjacent baseball field and secondary softball field still receiving finishing touches. However, the main softball field, facing the northwest corner of the Highway 136 and Route FF intersection, was ready for action, with the Lady Tigers jumping to an early lead in the opener.
In the bottom of the first inning, Princeton sent seven batters to the plate, with an Addy Henke driving in Macey Lewis with the opening run, with an Emma Walkup double driving in Grace Kelly and Faith Siemer.
Milan responded quickly in the top of the 2nd inning, with Marian Dabney cracking a three-run homer over the left field wall, evening the game at 3-3. The Lady ‘Cats added two more runs in the top of the 3rd inning, with back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning by Emerson Pauley and Avery Pickering followed by a sacrifice fly by Danika Shepherd.
Princeton’s Hannah Meighen was able to right the ship for the Tigers late, with four shutout innings giving PHS a chance to rally. The Tigers cut the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the 3rd inning, with a two-out single by Kelly followed by a run-scoring double by Siemer. The lead changed hands in the fifth, as Henke reached base via a base on balls and stole second base, with a Kelly double tying the game. Kelly scored on a Milan infield fielding error.
Milan had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the 7th, as an Avery Pickering single sent courtesy runner Tori Taylor racing to the plate. The throw to home resulted in Walkup tagging Taylor to cut down the potential tying run. With Pickering attempting to reach third, a quick throw to the base resulted in the final out.
Princeton, 9-4 on the season, will host Trenton on Tuesday night at 5:30 on Hot Country Z 101.7, with Milan, now 7-8 on the season, facing a quick turnaround with a Tuesday test against North Harrison.
Here is the softball scoreboard from Monday, September 25, 2023:
Marceline 17, Brookfield 7
Lexington 11, Braymer 10
Norborne/Hardin-Central 17, Tri-County 2
Penney 6, Chillicothe 5
South Harrison 5, North Platte 2
Albany 2, Putnam County 0
Worth County 4, Maryville 3
Gilman City 5, Maysville 4
East Harrison 4, North Harrison 2
Princeton 6, Milan 5
Trenton 14, Lathrop 5
Plattsburg 10, DeKalb 0
Grundy R-V 7, Meadville 5
