PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
TOUCH THEM ALL … Hilltop’s Sophia Crossgrove belts a solo home run in the second inning. VIEW PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
SATURDAY DOUBLE DIP … Delta’s Mya Martinez gloves an infield popup during game one of their doubleheader with Hilltop.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (April 11, 2026) – In the famous sports movie Friday Night Lights, Odessa Permian football coach Gary Gaines urged over and over that his team “be perfect.”
Hilltop pitcher Kelsy Connolly wasn’t exactly perfect against Delta — but she was darn close.
Connolly fired seven perfect innings in the circle before allowing two hits in her eighth inning of work, and went 7-for-9 at the plate to lead the Cadets to a 22-3, 12-0 sweep of the Panthers.
“Kelsy has worked so hard before the season, and it’s really good to see the success she is having so far this season both in the circle and at the plate,” veteran Hilltop coach Tom Schaper said. “
She keeps working to get better all the time. She is one of those girls who isn’t satisfied and wants to be as good as she possibly can. Today was an example of what all that work has helped her accomplish.”
Connolly had plenty of help from her teammates on the offensive side as the Cadets totaled a whopping 41 hits on the day. Doubles from Halle Jones and Brooklyn Kuszmaul got the Cadets started with a 1-0 first-inning lead in the opener.
Hilltop exploded for eight more tallies in the second.
Isabella Ackley and Caelan Nofziger singled around a Panther error to open the inning. Jones sliced a double down the left-field line to plate a pair of runs, and Kenley Routt added a third with a pop-fly single.
Kuszmaul ripped a two-run single to make it 6-0, but her line drive was mild compared to what happened next.
Connolly rocketed a two-run homer that had a shorter exit time than Artemis leaving the atmosphere. Sophia Crossgrove followed that up with a blast over the right-field fence to boost the margin to 9-0.
Jones scored on a wild pitch after a triple, and Connolly laced a two-RBI double in the third. Hilltop added four more in the fourth on RBI hits from Carlee Schaffner, Routt, Kuszmaul, and Ackley.
Addi Smith, Ackley, Nofziger, Schaffner, and Connolly each had run-scoring hits in the fifth. Kuszmaul tacked on one more with her fifth hit of the game.
Connolly went the first three innings facing nine batters, seven of whom struck out. Delta produced its three runs in the fourth. Sophia Ford and Bridget Whitaker singled around a walk off Smith.
A bases-loaded walk forced in the first run, and Annabelle Gillen brought home the next pair with a sharp single to left.
Hilltop (8-2) had 26 hits in the opener, with Jones, Routt, Nofziger, and Ackley each having three or more to support Kuszmaul’s 5-for-5 performance.
“The idea these girls have at the plate is they want to hit the ball,” Schaper said after being told of his team’s hit total on the day. “They are always working to perfect an at-bat, perfect what they do with a certain pitch.
“Sometimes people think we have inflated stats, but really these girls are very aggressive in everything they do on the field, including their approach at the plate. Thirty-nine hits today? I haven’t looked yet, but that’s a really good day.”
In the nightcap, Connolly retired the first 12 Delta (2-4) hitters, 10 of those by strikeout.
Whitaker’s pop-fly single leading off the fifth broke up the perfect game, but she was erased trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Graycn Pelton singled with two outs before Connolly struck out the final Panther, giving her 11 strikeouts in the game. Connolly did not walk a batter in her eight innings on the day.
Jones provided plenty of offense, going deep twice in the contest — a three-run shot in the second, then a solo blast that ricocheted off the center-field scoreboard in the third.
Connolly went 4-for-4 with four RBIs. Routt had three hits, as did Maggie Altman.
GAME 1
HHS 183 46 – 22 26 0
DHS 000 30 – 3 3 1
WP- Connolly (IP-3, H-0, R-0, BB-0, K-7)
LP- Pelton (IP-4, R-16, BB-1, K-4)
LEADING HITTERS: (Hilltop) Kelsy Connolly – home run, double, 4 RBIs; Kenley Routt – 4 singles, 2 RBIs; Brooklyn Kuszmaul – 3 doubles, 2 singles, 5 RBIs; Halle Jones – 2 doubles, triple, 2 RBIs; (Delta) Annabelle Gillen – single, 2 RBIs
GAME 2
HHS 263 10 – 12 15 0
DHS 000 00 – 0 2 4
WP- Kelsy Connolly (IP-5, H-2, R-0, BB-0, K-11)
LP- Reagan Gray (IP-5, H-15, R-12, BB-5, K-4)
LEADING HITTERS: (Hilltop) Halle Jones – 2 home runs, double, 4 RBIs; Kelsy Connolly – 2 doubles, 2 singles, 4 RBIs; (Delta) – 2 singles
