Kouts loses slugfest to Pioneer

Updated: May 31, 2011 10:39PM

ROYAL CENTER — Ever play home run derby in your backyard as a kid?

If you did, you can pretty much imagine what Pioneer’s softball field looks like, with the center-field fence just 186 feet away from home plate.

And Pioneer plays to its compact field, and it is a big reason Kouts’ dream season came to an end, 12-7, in the Pioneer Regional.

The Panthers went yard twice, one a two-run homer in the first inning by catcher Lindsey Miller, and then, a grand slam over the 186 sign in a six-run fourth inning by Panthers sophomore slugger Betsy Bingaman, who is also their pitcher.

Even so, the Fillies also had some punch in their batting order, as they took advantage of four Pioneer errors in the second inning and combined that with five hits, spreading the weath around and found themselves with a seven-run inning in a ten- batter inning of their own.    

But Kouts coach Tim McNeill knew that those seven runs were a shaky lead against a powerful Panthers lineup.

“I was thinking, I had a feeling, seven runs weren’t enough,” said  McNeill. “Their first five hitters (at the top of the batting order) are very good.”

McNeill was right, the Panthers powered their way to an 8-7 lead in the sixth inning, behind Bingaman’s four-run blast.

Unfortunately, Bingaman was getting stronger, and she limited the Fillies to just two hits after the Fillies’ big inning.

“Their pitcher did a really nice job, after that second inning, keeping our girls off balance,” McNeill said. “She was very aggressive. She learned after that big inning, and we couldn’t get to her.”

And for Kouts, pitcher Easten McNeill was not having a good day.

“Pitching, pitching, pitching” said Tim McNeill. “Our pitcher has some control problems. Her curveball (her strongest pitch), just didn’t go where we wanted it to, to keep it low.”

Kouts, which goes out of the tourney at 13-11, could be looking to getting back to the regional next season. The Fillies are young, with just four seniors graduating.

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