With 10 players either freshmen or sophomores on a roster of more than 20, Hot Springs struggled to get a hit as Camden Fairview routed the Lady Trojans, 18-0, in three innings.
Despite the loss, head coach Deanna Franklin was pleased with the team's efforts.
"We've got great kids," she said. "We're young. We're very inexperienced. We're playing a lot of freshman, and we have two freshmen that'll coming in from basketball that are still in the state tournament. We don't have any place to go but up."
Hot Springs (0-3, 0-2 5A/6A-6) got off on the wrong foot defensively, committing four errors that resulted in six unearned runs off one hit for the Lady Cardinals (2-1, 2-0) in the top of the first inning.
Lexi Betts sat Hot Springs' first three batters in order, and the Lady Cardinals came back in the second to score 11 runs. Two errors affected all by one of the runs in the inning as Camden Fairview rolled to a 17-0 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
Hot Springs again went down in order, but the Lady Trojans improved their defense allowing just one run.
With one out, Nadjia Hughes became the first and only batter to reach base, taking four pitches and the free base, but the next two batters went down in order to end the game.
"They don't ever quit," Franklin said. "They're going to give it everything they've got every time. They may not be in the right place, but they're going to give it everything they've got every time."
Betts earned the win for Camden Fairview, giving up just one walk in the shutout while striking out eight strikeouts. Jenna Fazio collected the loss, giving up two earned runs off 11 hits and nine walks while striking out one.
The Lady Trojans sport just four seniors and seven freshmen on the roster of 21, a significant improvement from last season's 13.
"We've got 21 kids on the team," Franklin noted. "We were low in numbers last year; we've got lots of interest this year. Great kids, great attitudes, wanting to learn. They're wanting to stay after practice to get more in. That's promising."
The Lady Trojans travel to Hope on Tuesday, and the Lady Cardinals will be in El Dorado for the Lady Cat Classic starting today.
Sports on 03/09/2018