Lady Hornets win season-opener in dramatic style

Fulton junior catcher Mckayla Ebersole safely slides home on a bunt single by junior center fielder Laney Kaskus in the first inning of Monday's season opener against Boonville at the high school sports complex. Ryan 8/22/11 The Lady Hornets went on to down the Lady Pirates 7-6 in the North Central Missouri Conference matchup.
Fulton junior catcher Mckayla Ebersole safely slides home on a bunt single by junior center fielder Laney Kaskus in the first inning of Monday's season opener against Boonville at the high school sports complex. Ryan 8/22/11 The Lady Hornets went on to down the Lady Pirates 7-6 in the North Central Missouri Conference matchup.

The Fulton Lady Hornets had some good innings in Monday afternoon's season opener against the Boonville Pirates at FHS Field. But they also had some not so good halves. Luckily for them, the Pirates had the same struggles and Fulton was able to stick it out long enough for junior Laney Kaskus' two-out game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 North Central Missouri Conference win.

Kaskus' two big hits led to two big Fulton runs. The first knock, a single in the sixth inning, put the eventual tying run - junior catcher Mckayla Ebersole - on third base and eventually moved her home on a single by junior first baseman Anastacia Galbreath to bring the score to six runs a piece.

"She did a good job being selective and making the pitcher work," Lady Hornets head coach Laura Dooley said of Kaskus. "She's a power hitter but she just needs to find the right pitches and she did that tonight."

Both Kaskus and Galbreath were 2-for-4 from the plate while senior infielder Rachel Washington was 3-for-5 with an RBI on the day. Fulton batted around Boonville in the first inning, leading to three runs. Mckayla and Haylee Ebersole scored on an error off a hit ball to center field by Washington. Then senior shortstop Rachel Snethen scored on a wild pitch to Washington later on that inning.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.