NON-LEAGUE SOFTBALL … Lyla Mahan slides into third base for the Locos ahead of the tag by Delta’s Ryllie Taylor in non-league softball action last Saturday. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER, STAFF)
By: Joe Blystone
DELTA (APRIL 22, 2023) – Popsicle makers are calling them Bumb Bombpops. Chocolate producers are thinking of a Kelsie Krunch candy bar. And for the Fourth of July, people in Montpelier, Ohio will be lighting up Bumb Blasts.
Two of those Kelsie Bumb rockets went into orbit to break open a tight game to lead Montpelier to a 13-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader over Delta.
The Locos also took the second contest 32-15 which was treated as a JV contest with the Panthers getting action for their younger players, so it didn’t count towards the teams overall record.
Delta grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first when Katie Friess bounced a single through the left side an eventually rode home on Jasey Spiess infield hit.
The Locos forged a tie in the second on Jada Uribes leadoff double off the left field fence and Bianca Phongphiou’s RBI single.
Then in the third Bumb began her assault on the food trailer behind the left field wall.
Lyla Mahan walked to open the inning and one out later, the Locos’ sophomore shortstop drilled a line drive deep over the wall to put Montpelier up 3-1.
Jaclyn Kohlhofer’s run scoring hit got Delta back to within a run in the bottom of the inning but in the fifth Bumb delivered again.
On a day where the 20+MPH winds were blowing out to left, Bumb’s shot after another walk to Mahan didn’t need any help to put the Locos ahead 5-2.
“She does a great job,” Loco coach Andy Robinson said. “She’s only a sophomore but she has a lot of power behind her.”
“She really focuses on getting good pitches to hit. She led off for us last year and we moved her to number three now, she has a strong swing and hits a lot of line drives and every once in a while, she’ll lift one and it’s good to see it when goes out.”
Two batters later, Jada Uribes matched Bumb on the distance factor with a towering shot that cleared the fence to make it 6-2.
From that point on Loco pitcher Madelyn Hopper was nearly unhittable, giving up just two hits in the last four innings and striking out eight for the game.
“Thursday, she had one bad inning, first time all year,” Robinson said of Hopper. “For her to come back today and pitch the way she usually does was important. She’s our workhorse and she makes it easy for us to make plays defensively.”
Montpelier got another tally in the sixth when Mahan singled, stole second and scored off an error, then put the game away in the seventh scoring six times on just two hits, fueled by five Delta walks.
Robinson expressed that the win was important to the Locos after dropping a league contest to Holgate two days previous.
“Exactly, we had to get back to it and it was a good reset for us to come out here. We were a little laggy in the beginning, but we finished really strong at the end.”
In the second game, Bumb lit up two more bombs, each of the three-run variety and Uribes cracked a grand slam in the high scoring affair.
Keagyn Gillen and Mya Martinez each homered for Delta. The Panthers remain without a victory on the year.
MONTPELIER 012 031 6 – 13 11 2
DELTA 101 000 0 – 2 6 2
Records: Montpelier 9-5, Delta 0-14
WINNING PITCHER: Hopper (7 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk)
LOSING PITCHER: Clapp (6 innings, 11 hits, 10 runs, 9 earned, 5 strikeouts, 5 walks) Other: Kohlhofer
LEADING HITTERS: (Montpelier) Mahan – 4 runs, single, RBI; Bumb – 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, 2 runs; Hopper – double, single; J. Uribes – home run, double, single, 3 runs; Phongphiou – 2 singles, RBI (Delta) Kohlhofer – 2 singles, RBI
Joe can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com