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Top of order thrives, Lynx go unbeaten at MSM Invite

Flaws, Woodle, McKinney and Stoakes combine for 24 hits and 11 RBIs

MARTENSDALE — At times the season has been a roller coaster ride for the Webster City softball team, but one thing has remained constant throughout — the top of the order can flat out hit.

And that was on display during a successful Saturday here under the scorching sun.

The Lynx top four sticks — Haley Flaws, Zoey Woodle, Taylor McKinney and Kelly Stoakes — supplied 24 hits and 11 RBIs, as they led the team to three victories at the Martensdale St. Marys Invite.

WCHS (11-8) earned wins over Southeast Valley (7-4), West Central Valley (7-3) and host MSM (12-10 in five innings).

“We were able to hit well in all of our games,” WCHS head coach Jess Howard said after her club piled up 32 hits in the three-game set. “(The top of the lineup) hit really well, but we had girls all the way through the lineup that were able to make big plays offensively.”

Flaws went 5 for 11 with a double and RBI in the lead-off spot. Woodle put together a 6 for 11 day with two doubles and three RBIs at No. 2. McKinney was even better, 7 for 10 with a RBI at No. 3, and Stoakes supplied four hits in 11 plate appearances and a team-high six RBIs.

Woodle came through with the clutch hit against Southeast Valley — a two-RBI double into the gap in the sixth inning that broke up a 3-3 game. WCHS plated four runs in the frame to jump in front for good.

An inning earlier, with the Lynx down 3-0, Stoakes got the ball rolling with a RBI triple.

McKinney and Jenna Miller had two hits each in the opening win. Flaws, Leah Kasch, Faith Anderson and Atlanta Hopp all had one.

WCHS was able to overcome a 13-strikeout performance from Jaguars’ pitcher Morgan Castenson. Miller picked up the win in the circle; she went the distance and surrendered seven hits.

Flaws, Woodle and McKinney were a combined 7 for 11 in the win over West Central Valley. WCHS again got down early, but rallied with two runs in the third inning, three more in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Kasch joined the trio with multiple hits. Anderson, Hopp and Cynthia Whitehill all had one.

Stoakes got her first career start in the circle and worked three innings. Hopp entered in the fourth and picked up the win. The tandem allowed nine hits, including a solo home run to Taylor Beane.

After two games in 90-degree temperatures, it was all about survival for WCHS and MSM in the finale. The two teams combined for 15 hits and 14 errors, 10 of them by the Lynx.

“We were the team that handled the heat just a little bit better than them,” Howard said. “It was a dry field and it didn’t get drug between games, so that played a part in some of our errors.”

WCHS took command with an eight-run fourth inning and finished with 10 hits. Stoakes went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, while Flaws, Woodle and McKinney had two hits each. Kasch added a single; Miller, Anderson and Whitehill all had one RBI.

Miller picked up her second pitching win of the day.

The Lynx will get back to North Central Conference play this evening with a road trip to take on Hampton-Dumont at 7:30 p.m. They’ll be home on Wednesday to face CGD and Friday against Algona.

Martensdale St. Marys Invite

Saturday at Martensdale

Webster City 7, SE Valley 4

Web City 000 034 0 — 7 11 2

SE Valley 210 001 0 — 4 7 1

Jenna Miller and Kaitlynn Seeley. Morgan Castenson and Kasey Lundberg. W — Miller. L — Castenson. 2B — WC: Zoey Woodle; SEV: Lundberg, Cassidy Lambert, Mackenzie Crampton, Jaynie Ferrari. 3B — WC: Kelly Stoakes; SEV: Mady Jaeschke. Multiple hits — WC: Woodle, Miller, Taylor McKinney; SEV: Crampton. RBI — WC: Woodle (2), Stoakes (2); SEV: Emily Jaeschke.

Webster City 7, W. Cent. Valley 3

WCV 021 000 0 — 3 9 2

Web City 002 032 x — 7 11 1

Abbi Beane and Emma Johnson. Kelly Stoakes, Atlanta Hopp (4) and Cynthia Whitehill. W — Hopp. L — A. Beane. 2B — WC: Haley Flaws. HR — WCV: Taylor Beane. Multiple hits — WCV: T. Beane, Jenna Merical; WC: Taylor McKinney (3), Flaws, Zoey Woodle, Leah Kasch. RBI — WCV: T. Beane, A. Beane; WC: Stoakes (2), Flaws, Woodle.

Webster City 12, MSM 10 (5)

Web City 300 81 — 12 10 10

MSM 302 41 — 10 5 4

Jenna Miller, Atlanta Hopp (4) and Kaitlynn Seeley. Kaitlyn Schad and Brinley White. W — Miller. L — Schad. HR — MSM: Anna Parrott. Multiple hits — WC: Kelly Stoakes (3), Haley Flaws, Zoey Woodle, Taylor McKinney. RBI — WC: Stoakes (2), McKinney, Miller, Faith Anderson, Cynthia Whitehill; MSM: Parrott.

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