It was a quality win against a quality opponent for the Logan High School girls’ softball team, which toppled Winfield 6-2 on Thursday night in a battle of Class AAA teams at the Logan Softball Complex.
Senior right-hander Morgan Aguirre pitched the complete game win for Logan, which improved to 2-1 on the young season. Aguirre went seven innings and allowed just two runs and four hits with 13 strikeouts and three walks.
Aguirre also led the Lady Cats at the plate as she was 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI. Shortstop Rachelle Toppings was 2-for-4 with a pair of bunt singles.
Logan took advantage of four errors by Winfield (2-3), sending nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring three runs and breaking a 2-2 tie.
The Lady Cats then added an insurance run in the sixth for Aguirre.
“It was a good win and we were a lot more relaxed,” Logan coach Randy Robinette said. “We were not as nervous. You’re always nervous in your first couple of games. We weren’t nearly as nervous as we were the other night. I thought we had a good effort with good pitching, good hitting and good defense. We made some mistakes but it’s early in the season. We’re a long way away from being a good ball club.”
Logan plated three runs in the fifth to go ahead 5-2 on Winfield starting pitcher Taylor Raines. The Lady Generals committed two errors in the inning but the big blow was Aguirre’s RBI double to left.
“We took advantage of the errors but we need to hit the ball better,” Robinette said. “We have hitters but they haven’t done as much as we would like. But it’s way too early to pick. A win is a win and I’m really happy with our kids.”
Logan made it 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth as catcher Katie Chryssofos had an infield single and her courtesy runner, Summer Collins, scored on Taylor Norman’s RBI single to left center.
The Lady Cats made it 1-0 in the second as Emily Vinson doubled and scored on a Winfield error.
Then in the fourth, Aguirre singled, took second on a wild pitch and then scored as Lara Sedlock bunted down the first base line and the throw was wild, allowing her to come home making it 2-0.
Winfield was able to tie it up 2-2 in the top of the fifth with leadoff hitter Faith Farley’s two-run, bloop single to left.
Logan then took charge in the last half of the fifth.
Sedlock added a single for Logan. DP Chastidy Wiley and second baseman Shelby Hale also singled.
Farley led Winfield as she was 2-for-4 at the plate. Natalie Miskofsky and Sydney Hancock added singles.
Logan returns to action with Monday’s 5:30 p.m. clash at home with Class AA county rival Chapmanville Regional. Both teams went to the state tourney last year. LHS swept the season series with the Lady Tigers in 2011, winning 7-1 and 5-4. Logan has won the last five meetings dating back to 2009.
Logan is an even 15-15 against Chapmanville since 2004.
The Lady Cats then host Scott on Tuesday night.
Last night was unofficially “Alumni Night” at the Logan softball field. Returning home to watch the game were former players Jessica Bias and Hannah Vinson. Both are active in the college game as Vinson is a junior first baseman at the University of Pikeville (Ky.) and Bias is a freshman at Salem International.
Also on Robinette’s staff this season is new assistant coach and former Logan catcher Lindsay Noe, a member of Robinette’s outstanding 2002 Class AAA state championship team which went 33-5 and won the Triple-A crown for the second year in a row. A handful of other former Lady Cats were also in the stands.
“A lot of them came back tonight and it really helps the kids,” Robinette said. “They tell the kids how much they miss it. Lindsay is with us this year and will be able to help us. All of my assistants do a good job. We’ve had some good teams in the past. We’re going to be a good team this year. It may just take us a little bit longer. We didn’t have Sam Curry tonight. She was ill and didn’t play. Shelby Hale did a nice job at second base.”
















