Lady Hounds bully Fairfield in rare early afternoon doubleheader

Fort Madison Head softball coach Jared Rehm talks with from left to right Taylor Johnson, Reilynn Turnbull, and Kylie Lumino during a Fairfield timeout Tuesday afternoon at Baxter Sports Complex in Fort Madison.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

The Fort Madison Bloodhounds Alivia Holmes comes up to a mob after hitting a home run in the 1st game of the Bloodhounds' sweep of Fairfield Tuesday afternoon at the Baxter Sports Complex.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

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GETTING GOING

I think we’re starting, as we see more pitches, to get a better idea of what we like and what we don’t like. When we need to wait and when not.”

Elle Ruble, Lady Hound senior captain

SWEEP

Lady Hounds win 16-2, 14-1 to open Southeast Conference play.

FORT MADISON – The Fairfield girls may be in the midst of a rebuild, but Fort Madison took full advantage of hot bats in Tuesday night’s doubleheader sweep that ended with a walk-off grand slam by senior Elle Ruble.
The Bloodhounds won both games of an early afternoon tilt at Baxter Sports Complex by the mercy rule, the first just three innings in 16-2, and the second 14-1 Southeast Conference wins.
Fort Madison Head Coach Jared Rehm backed off in the first game in the third inning getting an intentional out by sending a girl early from third.
Fort Madison trailed 1-0 after the top of the first in the opener when the Trojans’ freshman Leah Helmick laced an RBI double to center off incoming freshman Jordyn Marshall.
Marshall settled in for the final two outs and then the Hounds' defense went to work holding Fairfield scoreless the rest of the way.
In the meantime, the Hounds' bats were active from the get go as Fort Madison put up seven hits in the bottom of the first enroute to a 9-1 lead after 1. Freshman Alivia Holmes lifted a shot high into a gusty southeast win that carried over the left field fence that sent left fielder Helmick sprawling over the net fencing.
Holmes went 3-3 in the opener with 3 RBIs and three runs scored to lead the onslaught. Fort Madison collected 14 hits with 13 RBIs.  Senior Lauryn Helmick was 3 for 3 with three runs scored and 2 RBIs. Taylor Johnson had two hits, 2 RBIs, and two runs scored in the opener.
Marshall got the win going three innings allowing two runs both earned on four hits and allowed no walks.
The games were played with a 1 p.m. start so the seniors could get to honors night at FMHS in the evening, so the pedal was kind of on for the second game that was delayed a little by a brief thunderstorm that moved through the area.
Ruble drove in four runs on just two hits to lead Fort Madison in the second game that saw the Hounds score five runs in both the third and sixth innings, including the grand slam that scored Reilynn Turnbull, Helmick, and Holmes to give Fort Madison the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Ruble said the Hounds are starting to see pitchers better and are coming together after a sluggish start to the season. Central Lee rolled the Hounds 12-0 to open the year and then Louisa-Muscatine won in extra innings 7-6 in a Saturday tournament this weekend. Since that time the Hounds have won three in a row.
“I think we’re starting, as we see more pitches, to get a better idea of what we like and what we don’t like. When we need to wait and when not,” Ruble said Tuesday.
“The first game was a little rough, but we’re definitely starting to come together and play like we know we can. We’re hitting better and we’re starting to piece that together."
Freshman Emma Snaadt got the win for Fort Madison in the second game. Rehm said he wants to create run production to take some of the pressure off his young hurlers.
“I know they are going to be the pitchers for the next several years. We’ve had to go through growing pains in the past. I’ve also said in the past if they score 20, we just have to score 21 so we’re trying to score as much as we can to take pressure off those girls,” he said.
The coach said he’s letting catcher Kylie Lumino call pitches when she’s behind the plate, a strategy he hasn’t used in a while.
“I’m letting Kylie call Lauryn’s pitches. I called Jordan’s today and the other day, but we’re starting to get a better understanding of what’s working well and what’s not, and how to move the ball around rather than doing the same thing over and over again,” he said.
Despite the lopsided wins, Rehm wasn’t able to substitute as much as he would like in those moments to get more girls in the game.
“I’d like to get a little more of that, but if we only play three innings it’s going to be tougher to do that,” he said.
“I’m always looking at the card and who’s doing what and always looking for more. I’ll keep messing with it more with non-conference games. We roll with a certain core in conference games.”
He said he didn’t want the games to get out of hand out of respect for Fairfield’s head coach Bob Bradfield, who has more than 1,000 career wins.
“I have a respect for Coach Bradfield and I was at the high school when he got his 1,000th win against us. He’s been doing it for a long time, and I don’t like to run the score up like that, but when we’re just hitting, that’s different.”
Elizabeth Tanner also had a homerun with 3 RBIs on a shot to center field. Helmick and Turnbull both had 2 RBIs in the second game.
Snaadt’s line was five hits and a run scored unearned with two walks and no strikeouts.
The Bloodhounds are 3-2 to start the young season and take on Fairfield again, this time on the road Thursday night.