Hornets battle through tough week on diamond

It was a rough week on the baseball diamond for the Hornets, who ran headfirst into a Strasburg-Franklin team that apparently took personal offense to baseballs remaining inside the park.

Malvern opened the week May 4, with a 5-0 loss to the Tigers, who sit atop the Inter-Valley Conference North Division throne. Tiger ace Brody Baughman was nasty, tossing a two-hit shutout while piling up 12 strikeouts. Cooper Kiehl and Bryson Casler accounted for the Hornets' only hits as Jaxon Jones battled through six innings on the mound.

The Hornets bounced back May 5, and did it with a flourish, knocking off Kidron Central Christian 7-4 in non-conference action. Malvern broke open a tight game with a five-run fourth inning because apparently subtlety is overrated. Cameron Good earned the win after scattering seven hits over six innings, then came right back around and helped his own cause at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Jaxon Jones added two hits and two RBI as the Hornets salvaged a split in their road games.

Strasburg-Franklin completed the series sweep May 6, with an 11-1 win over Malvern in an innings-shortened contest. The Hornets hung around early before the visiting Tigers detonated for five runs in the third inning and four more in the fifth. Wade Barkley and Cooper Kiehl had Malvern’s only hits in the loss.

The Hornets closed the week 7-12 overall with a 4-6 record in the Inter-Valley Conference North Division.

Softball

If nothing else, the Hornets proved this week that chaos can, in fact, be a strategy.

Malvern opened May 4, with a 21-0 loss at Strasburg-Franklin in five innings. Lexi Wood supplied the Hornets’ lone hit, while the Tigers basically turned the first two innings into batting practice with 17 combined runs.

Then came May 5, when Malvern finally got to exhale.

The Hornets snapped a 16-game losing streak in spectacular fashion, outslugging Kidron Central Christian 21-16 in a game that featured 37 total runs, 17 combined hits, 18 walks, seven errors by each team, and approximately zero concern for pitcher sanity. Lexi Brabant absolutely went thermonuclear, finishing 4-for-4 with two doubles, seven RBI, and four runs scored. Ashlyn Bush added a homer and four RBI, while the Hornets racked up 11 hits as a team. Rumor has it that the scoreboard operator needed a hydration break by the fourth inning.

Strasburg-Franklin completed the season sweep May 6, defeating Malvern 7-1. The score at least looked considerably more civilized this time around as Lexi Yost scored the Hornets’ lone run, while Ashlyn Bush battled through a complete game in the circle.

Malvern finished the week with a 4-20 mark overall and is winless in the IVC North.

Track and Field

Malvern made plenty of noise May 8, at the Fairless Falcon Twilight Invitational, especially on the boys side, where Owen Ball and Parker Bowe spent the evening collecting gold medals like they were Pokémon cards.

Ball won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.64 seconds, then doubled back to capture the 300m hurdles in 40.94. Because winning one hurdles race apparently wasn’t enough. Parker Bowe also dominated the throwing events, winning discus with a toss of 169-7 and taking first in shot put at 55-1. Julius Gore added a runner-up finish in the 100m dash with a time of 11.64.

The boys 4x200m relay team placed third in 1:33.54, while the 4x800m relay also finished third in 8:37.82. Camrin Detchon added a sixth-place finish in the 800m run, and Gabe Martine grabbed sixth in shot put.

Over on the girls side, Mya Doughty led the way by placing third in the 400m dash and sixth in the 200m. Olivia Maher turned in a strong night in the hurdles, finishing fourth in the 100m hurdles and fifth in the 300m hurdles, while Emma Maher added a sixth-place finish in the 300m hurdles. Ella Debo took sixth in the 800m run, and Marissa Passio placed fifth in the discus.