In the first action of the 2023 season, the Webb City High School softball team earned a pair of non-conference victories on Saturday at McDonald County High School.
Webb City defeated Quapaw, Oklahoma, 11-1 in the day's opener and the Cardinals knocked off host Mac County 11-7.
Against Quapaw, the Cardinals scored three runs in the first inning, four in the fourth and two apiece in the fifth and sixth innings.
Webb City recorded 12 hits. Abby Sargent went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Alex Maturino, Sydney Strickland, Dawsyn Decker and Rilley Hanes all had two hits apiece. Maturino hit a pair of doubles, while Decker and Hanes tripled. Lily Hall, Maturino and Decker drove in two runs apiece.
Three Webb City pitchers limited Quapaw to one hit.
Laney Taylor was the winning pitcher. She went two innings in the circle, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out two.
Kenzie Wynn tossed three scoreless innings, while Karsyn Cahoon pitched one inning, giving up one run.
In the win over the Mustangs, Webb City plated six runs in the first inning and added two in the second to take a comfortable 8-0 lead.
Down 9-1, McDonald County erupted for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cardinals added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
The Cardinals once again got the bats going in a big way with 11 hits against their district foe.
Kylee Sargent, Strickland and Decker had two hits apiece. Hanes homered and drove in two runs. Wynn and Strickland had two RBI, while Lily Hall, Maturino, Decker and Addi Brown contributed one RBI apiece.
Lia Taylor was the winning pitcher. She went five innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out three. Addie Burns and Wynn pitched in relief.
McDonald County's Joslyn Royce allowed six runs on five hits, while Jaylee Brock gave up two earned runs on four hits and Dakota O'Brien surrendered two runs, both unearned, in one inning of work.
Carlee Cooper and O'Brien both homered for the Mustangs, while Kearston Hopkins drove in three runs on two hits.