FULTON — With all seven seniors in the starting lineup for Senior Night, the Fulton Hornets had two straight 12-plate appearances, seven-run frames in the third and fourth innings.
“All the seniors are playing, played the whole game, and it was just fun to watch them go out and string hits together like that, make it happen,” Fulton softball coach Tim Echelmeier said.
Those innings at the plate led to Class 3 No. 4 Fulton run-ruling the Boonville Lady Pirates 16-4 in 4½ innings in a district opponent matchup Tuesday at Fulton’s softball field.
With the game tied at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the third, the Hornets were fed up with it being close, so they responded as a team by stringing hits and walks together.
Fulton (20-6-1) No. 9 hitter Aubrey Fleetwood, who made the starting nine for her Senior Night, led the bottom of the third by lining the softball to the gap in right-center and hustling to second for a double.
Two batters later, Fleetwood stole third as Reagan Echelmeier swiped second base, then the Boonville starter threw a wild pitch, allowing Fleetwood to score and Reagan Echelmeier to advance to third. Fleetwood’s baserunning put the Hornets up 3-2, and they held onto that lead.
During Fulton’s fourth plate appearance in the bottom of the third, another passed ball sent Samantha Hedgpath home. Then, in the same at-bat, Samantha’s twin sister, Jayna Hedgpath, drove in a run on her seeing-eye single between the shortstop and third baseman.
Keeping it going, Brilee Ash did the most damage, crushing a three-run home run to left-center before getting swarmed by a group of Hornets at the plate.
With one out and Fleetwood back at the dish, Fulton plated its final run in the third inning when she hit into a fielder’s choice at shortstop, scoring courtesy runner Olivia Weaver from third. Boonville made an out at second, but its second baseman overthrew her first baseman, and Fleetwood made it to second.
After three innings, the Hornets led 9-2, and they weren’t done with the offensive onslaught yet.
Fulton liked what it did in the third inning and decided to do it again in the fourth.
Bringing home the first of the Hornets’ seven runs in the fourth inning, Ash lined a single to right field.
Following that, Fulton scored six runs with two outs in the fourth inning: Rilee Swaim popped an RBI single past a diving left fielder, Onyx Kamp slapped an opposite-field RBI double down the right-field line, Reagan Echelmeier drilled a two-run base hit to center field and scored when Samantha Hegpath reached on a fielding error by the pitcher and Samantha Hedpath scored when Layla Underwood hit into a fielder’s choice at second base.
All that hitting, baserunning and scoring put Fulton up 16-4.
Boonville (10-16) needed to score at least three runs in the top of the fifth to avoid getting run-ruled.
Hornets reliever Natalie Underwood, who took over for starter Ash, ensured that didn’t happen. She sent the Lady Pirates down 1-2-3, striking out the first two, looking on three pitches each.
It was a back-and-forth contest before the third inning, with each team taking the lead once and the Hornets tying it once.
Jayna Hedgpath put Fulton in front first, driving in a run on her sacrifice pop fly to second base in the first inning.
Grace Poulsen put Boonville on top for the only time when she smacked an opposite-field two-RBI single to shallow right field in the top of the second.
The Lady Pirates’ lead lasted just one frame, as Swaim sent one home on a sacrifice fly to center field in the bottom of the second to tie it at 2.
From there, Fulton kept getting on base and scoring while its pitchers allowed Boonville to get on base just five times between the third and fifth innings.
Four Lady Pirates reached base to start the fourth, and they drove in their final runs on Aubrey Ritchie’s RBI double down the right field line and Emme Comegys’s RBI single to shallow left field.
Ash earned the win for Fulton, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits, a hit by pitch and no walks while striking out one in four innings.
“Brilee’s a strike thrower,” Tim Echelmeier said. “I can always count on her to come in and throw strikes. She did her job. It was a nice night all the way around.”
Boonville starter Ritchie took the loss, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) on seven hits, four walks and a hit by pitch as she punched out one in 3⅓ innings.
Following Fulton’s already entertaining ballgame, tears of joy and emotions abounded as Fulton’s seven seniors, with parents in hand, walked to home plate.
Before reaching home, a group of non-senior varsity and junior varsity Hornets held out bats and pulled them back as each senior walked past them like an official ceremony in medieval times, with the fitting exception of bats instead of swords.
Tim Echelmeier, who’s already had much success coaching his seven seniors, shared what it’s been like working with them.
“It’s been a great group,” Tim Echlemeier said. “These guys have worked hard and been athletic. A lot of them have played together for many, many years. And yeah, the program’s gonna definitely miss those girls.”
All the hard work and effort paid off on and off the diamond, as Senior Night announcer Ash stated during Samantha Hedgpath’s and Jayna Hedgpath’s walk-throughs that the twins will play college softball at NCAA Division II Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
The Hedgpath twins will join 2023 New Bloomfield graduates Brooklyn Smith and Reagan Smart on the Lincoln softball team.
While the Hedgpath twins were the first two Fulton seniors on the team to sign for college softball programs, Tim Echelmeier said there would be more. In addition to the Hedgpaths and other senior signings, Hornets girls tennis player Madi Plybon, who plays club softball, officially signed for Westminster College softball on Sep. 15.
Whether they’re playing softball or not, each senior’s presentation came with excitement about what they will do.
Fulton’s Fleetwood and Schoening will attend State Fair Community College and want to be dental hygienists; Swaim will attend Eastern Oregon University and will either go down the path to becoming a dermatologist assistant or some form of child psychologist; Kamp will complete Moberly Area Community College’s nursing program.
Meanwhile, first-team all-state infielder Reagan Echelmeier is undecided, but she wants to play college softball.
In the meantime, future plans are not on the Hornets’ mind, as the district tournament is next week, and it’s likely going for a conference title on Thursday.
In its final home game this season, Fulton (8-1 North Central Missouri Conference) plays its most meaningful contest before districts when it hosts Highway 54 rival Mexico (15-10, 7-1 NCMC) at 5 p.m. Thursday.
If the Lady Bulldogs beat Hannibal, who’s last in the NCMC, today, then the Fulton – Mexico matchup will decide who wins the NCMC. The Hornets run-ruled the Lady Bulldogs 14-2 in five innings on Sep. 14 in Mexico, Missouri.
“They’ve got some very talented players,” Tim Echelmeier said. “They can string some stuff together on you. So no, we’ll have to be on our A game to win that game for sure.”