HAYS – The TMP-Marian offense carried the Monarchs to a doubleheader sweep of the Russell/Victoria Broncos Thursday afternoon to close out the regular season.
TMP combined to scored 13 total runs in the doubleheader and senior Sophia Coulter hit a home run in both games making four straight games with a home run.
Sophomore Madison Augustine got the start in both games of the doubleheader and would come away with a pair of wins.
Game 1: TMP 6, Russell/Victoria 5
Russell/Victoria took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-run single by Belle Walton. Her first two two run scoring singles in the game.
In the bottom of the second TMP answered right back when the pitch Madison Augustine helped her own cause with a two-run single.
The Broncos retook the lead in the top of the third on a Brooklyn Nowak RBI double.
TMP trailed 3-2 through four and a half innings and that’s when the bats came to life.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning three straight Monarchs reached base ahead of Jack VonLintel who singled in a pair of runs to put TMP up 4-3.
Two batters later Sophia Coulter connected on her first home run of the day, a two-run shot to put TMP up 6-3.
Walton drove in two more runs in the top of the sixth inning cutting it to 6-5 but Augustine got three ground ball outs in the top of the seven securing the 6-5 TMP win.
Augustine allowed five runs, four earned, one seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts in seven innings.
Coulter, VonLintel and Madison Augustine were two-for-three at the plate in game one with two RBI’s.
Game 2: TMP 13, Russell/Victoria 10
The two teams combined to scored 23 runs on 21 hits in game two of the doubleheader.
Russell’s Kendra Bay gave Russell/Victoria a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on her fourth home run of the season.
But TMP answered back in a big way in the bottom of the inning. Jack VonLintel got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly and then two batters later Sophia Coulter hit her second home run of the day, and her fifth of the season, a three-run shot to put TMP 4-2.
Coulter added three more RBI’s in the bottom of the second inning on a three-run double to put TMP up 7-2.
After batting around in the first TMP did it again in a five-run third inning as they built a 12-2 lead through three innings.
In the inning the Monarchs recorded four RBI doubles.
Down 12-2 through three innings Russell would mount their comeback.
Over the next four innings they out scored TMP 8-1.
They sent eight to the plate in a three-run third inning and eight to the plate in a four-run sixth inning.
But Augustine was able to keep Russell/Victoria off the board in the seventh as the Monarchs picked up the 13-10 win.
Augustine allowed 10 total runs, eight earned in a game two victory. She struck out four and walked five in seven innings.
Coulter was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a career-high eight RBI’s. She homered and doubled twice. She finished the doubleheader 6-for-7 with two home runs, 10 RBI’s and two doubles.
VonLintel drove in three more runs in game two and was two-for-three and scored three times.
TMP improved to 10-10 and finished 6-0 in the MCL.
Russell/Victoria drops to 15-5.
The Monarchs will get Beloit in the first round of the 3A Larned sub-state Monday in Larned.
The Broncos will take on the host Larned.