Love, Lady Wildcats blank Belle in District 10 first round

NEW BLOOMFIELD - Sophomore starter Madison Love tossed a two-hitter and struck out seven to spark the No. 4 seed New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats in Wednesday's 5-0 first-round win over No. 5 Belle in the Class 2, District 10 Tournament.

Love issued only one walk in going the distance for the win.

"Madison started ahead (in the count) and that allowed her to work all of her pitches in," New Bloomfield head coach Dara Reinkemeyer said. "The defense behind her was also making plays."

Love helped her cause at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a double, a run batted in and a run scored as the Lady Wildcats (11-11) finished with nine hits. New Bloomfield tallied two runs in the fourth and its other three in the sixth.

Senior second baseman Kennedy Peiter went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and scored twice for the Lady Wildcats, while senior right fielder Taylor Howard finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Senior center fielder Mykaela Bonnett was 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and scored once, and freshman shortstop Madi Craighead went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored.

"I was happy with the way we were hitting the ball and seeing well (at the plate)," Reinkemeyer said.

New Bloomfield advances to face top-seeded and Show-Me Conference foe Fatima in the semifinals at 6:30 tonight. The Lady Wildcats lost twice to the Lady Comets during the regular season.

"We have to come out and play solid defense, keep putting the ball in play and find some holes," Reinkemeyer said.