'Hounds swept at St. Paul

CONCORDIA -- The Sweet Springs baseball and softball teams both lost Wednesday at St. Paul, the boys by a 14-6 margin and the girls nipped 9-8 in eight innings.

Junior Natsuki Kitamura led the Saints' attack with two hits, three runs scored and four RBIs -- two on two-out double in the bottom of the sixth inning. By then the outcome had been largely decided, although junior Billy Martin's two-run single in the top of the sixth had narrowed the Greyhounds' deficit to five runs.

Junior Jordan Bredehoeft doubled in two of St. Paul's three first-inning run and Kitamura followed sophomore Clint Stuenkel's triple with a single and scored in the second for a 5-2 lead.

Martin doubled a run home and came in on senior Quinn Jones' single in the third to close to within a run, but the Saints (4-1) got one run back in their half of the frame and extended their lead with four runs in the fourth -- two crossing on sophomore Brandon Haake's double.

Martin was three for three with three RBIs for Sweet Springs (3-3), which plays Monday at Concordia.

St. Paul twice battled back from an 8-0 deficit to win the girls' game on senior Ashley Brackman's one-out single in the eighth, which drove in senior Taylor Vogelsmeier after a lead-off double.

Senior Shelby Hayworth's two-run single capped a first-inning rally for the Lady Greyhounds, who led 4-0. They tacked on four more runs in the fifth, junior Kristin Jones delivering a two-run single and Hayworth adding an RBI single.

The Lady Saints (2-1) began their comeback with six runs on three walks, three errors and two hits -- run-scoring singles from junior Taylor Riesterer and freshman Suzanne Allen. Sophomore Dana Peters' double tied the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

Hayworth and Jones each drove in three runs for Sweet Springs (3-3), which is scheduled to play Saturday in the Northwest Tournament.