It looked like Community R-6 wouldn’t be scoring any runs in the second inning on Tuesday.

Community R-6 vs Harrisburg Photo Gallery

Despite loading the bases, a runner was doubled off third base to allow Harrisburg to tally two outs at Community R-6 in Laddonia. However, the Lady Trojans scored four runs in that inning and went on to score six runs with two outs to win their home opener against Harrisburg 8-2.

The No. 9 hitter Aaliyah Welch guided a RBI single into the shallow outfield for the game’s first run and then Rylee Rafferty smoked an opposite-field triple to right field to bring in two more runs. Head coach Kendra Murphy said the at-bats before that point weren’t bad for Community (2-0), but the results just weren’t there yet.

“Hitting is contagious,” Murphy said. “When you get that first girl to get a really good hit at a really big moment, which is what Aaliyah did, she sparked it for everybody and everybody else is like, ‘Yeah I can do this too. Bring it on.’”

Welch said she wasn’t satisfied with her hitting going into her key at-bat but knew she had the chance for a big moment with runners still on base after the double play. 

“I feel like I’ve been struggling at the plate so I’ve just been trying to go up there and just make contact and put the ball in play,” Welch said. “If I put the ball in play, it helps my team.”

Case in point, Welch put the ball in play her next two times up. The ground ball she hit in her third at-bat resulted in an error that allowed two more runs to score in the fifth inning. 

Prior to her, Braelyn Kuda picked up a two-out single to extend the inning and put the Lady Trojans one step closer in turning their lineup over with runners on base. That is what Murphy loves to see and loved seeing last year during Community’s 22-win season a year ago.

“The three at the bottom of the lineup, that was one reason for so much success last year,” Murphy said. “The bottom of the lineup continued to roll it over. That’s what we keep preaching to them. You don’t have to get a hit every time. We just need a quality at-bat and a ball put in play.”

Community had several girls finish with one RBI to follow Rafferty’s two RBI. Welch, Peyton Schafer, Chloe Johnson and Myla Carroll each had a RBI, and Lydia Hoyt went 3-for-4 at the plate. 

“Our dugout was pretty up after that (second inning),” Welch said. “We’ve been staying pretty positive, and that always helps.”

The Community dugout stayed up after the fifth inning, not just because the team tacked on two runs in the bottom half of the inning but also because Harrisburg (1-3) was kept off the scoreboard in the top half. The Lady Bulldogs had a runner at third base with no outs but couldn’t scratch one across.

Amy McCurdy fielded a bunt and threw the runner out at first base. After receiving the throw after moving over to cover first due to the bunt, the second baseman Carroll fired to the catcher Schafer to complete the unconventional 5-4-2 double play and keep the game at 4-0. Murphy thought it meant a lot to deny Harrisburg a similar inning like Community had earlier. 

“Myla bobbled the ball just a little bit but managed to hang on to it in time before the runner got there,” Murphy said. “That was a huge momentum swing because they were in a position there with no outs and a runner at third.”

Jocelyn Curtis knew what to do with a lead, especially in front of her home crowd as she pitched all seven innings and nearly recorded a shutout. Community committed an error with two outs that extended the seventh inning for Harrisburg.

Still, Curtis finished with seven strikeouts and allowed two unearned runs on four hits in seven innings. Prior to the seventh inning, Curtis only allowed about two balls to reach the outfield gaps in her first outing on home field since the summer.

“Going into this, I really wanted to show that I’m back and just as good, if not even better,” Curtis said. “I was really hitting my spots and throwing those (drop balls) in places outside up, trying to keep it out of the middle.”

“It was her first outing since the jamboree (on Aug. 26),” Murphy said. “It’s been a while since she’s got to throw in front of them. That was a big deal to her — coming out and throwing strong. She forced them to swing at pitches that they might not have wanted to swing at.”

Community plays at Hermann (0-1) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.