For The Tribune
Seymour’s softball team was unable to generate enough offense against Franklin on Friday night, and the Owls came up on the short end of a 7-5 score in their final game of the regular season.
The Grizzly Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before scoring four times in the third inning, with the big hit being a two-run home run by Shelby Taylor.
The Owls got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning when Faith Rebber tripled over the center fielder’s head and scored on a wild pitch.
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Franklin bunched three hits and took advantage of a Seymour error to score twice in the fourth for a 7-1 lead.
Seymour’s bats came to life in the fifth inning, and Hannah Deaton started the rally with a single to center field. Emily Bobb singled past the second baseman, and Baylee Robinson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Avery Clark then drove a pitch over the fence in left-center field for a grand slam to close the gap to 7-5.
Deaton singled again in the sixth inning, but she was erased on a double play, and the Owls went down in order in the seventh.
“We kind of dug ourselves a hole,” Owls coach Brian Personett said. “They had the big inning in the third inning, scoring four runs, and we’re down 5-0. I felt like the second time through the lineup, we finally started making some adjustments.”
The Owls only had one hit the first time through the lineup and six hits after that.
“I think we had three or four leadoff hitters on and didn’t get any production behind them,” Personett said. “When you get the leadoff hitter on, it’s crucial that you get production behind them. You string a couple hits together, and it makes runs.”
Seymour stranded runners in the first, second and fourth innings.
Personett started all of the seniors — Bobb, Chloe Wahl, Keia Blair, Claire Collett and Shelby Stephens. Macy Hall was unable to play because of a knee injury.
Personett said he enjoyed coaching that group.
“This is probably as a whole the best group of seniors that I’ve ever had here,” he said. “They’re leaders on and off the field. They’re leaders in the classroom, they’re leaders at the school and they’re leaders in their churches and in the community. The list goes on and on of all the activities they do. I believe, between the six of them, they have a GPA of around 4.35 on a 4.0 scale. They’re going to be very successful young ladies.”
The Owls entered this game with a 5-0 win at Madison the night before. They started that game strong by scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning.
Bobb finished with a pair of singles, and Katie Suits had a single, a triple and a team-high two RBIs.
Deaton earned the win in the circle, allowing four hits in 4⅔ innings of work. Clark finished the game and tossed a one-hitter.
Now 12-14 on the season, Seymour will face Bedford North Lawrence at 11 a.m. Monday in the New Albany Sectional.
The Hoosier Hills Conference rivals have split a pair of games this season, with the Owls winning 11-5 on March 31 and Bedford North Lawrence winning in the Edgewood Tournament.
“At this stage of the game, I think you throw both of those games out,” Personett said. “It’s a new ballgame. If we show up and play defense and hit the ball, we’ll be fine. And if we don’t, we’ll be in trouble.”