Typical final home game for Lady Tribe

Over the last four years, the Kennett Lady Indians have made a reputation for winning on the softball diamond with dominating pitching, strong defense and a plethora of tough hitters in the starting lineup.

Tuesday afternoon, nine Lady Tribe seniors played their final home game by doing what they do best, dominating all facets of the game in a 10-0 rout of the Neelyville Lady Tigers at Indian Park.

"It was nice to have a Senior Day and the seniors be able to come out and do what they've done best for the last four years," Kennett coach Laurie Vaughan said. "You've got a good pitcher on the mound with Laurel (Jones), great defense behind her and a lot of good sticks on our batting order."

For a group of girls that has played together since grade school, it was a fitting way to play their final home game.

"It's just great to get to finish what we started when we were 10," Kennett senior Taylor Wake said. "We like to play our game and we're all on the same level. When you put us all together, we just gelled. That's what a team is."

Like she has been from the first time she stepped in the pitcher's circle as a freshman, Jones was in command Tuesday, tossing a one-hit shutout while striking out 12 and allowing just one walk.

"She's a very dependable player," Kennett senior Allyson Luce said of Jones. "She's definitely going to carry her talent to college and pretty much blow some minds there as she has here."

While Jones was keeping Neelyville's bats in check, the Lady Tribe's bats were rattling and humming to the tune of 10 runs on 10 hits.

Leading the way was senior cleanup hitter Ciara Dewrock, who scorched a bases-loaded triple to right field in the bottom of the first inning to put Kennett up 3-0 and set the tempo for the day. Dewrock finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of triples.

"Ciara has a big bat. She always has," said Wake. "I know when she's at the plate she's not going to leave runners on the base. She's going to just do her job and get the job done."

Kennett added two more runs in the bottom of the second as Haley Morrow singled and Jody Vancil was hit by a pitch. Both later scored on errors to make it 5-0.

The Lady Tribe added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as Dewrock tripled with one out, then came home on Wake's single to open another rally. Jones doubled to drive in Wake, then Jones came home on an error. Elizabeth Hively capped the rally by singling home Morrow.

Vancil finished her last home game with a pair of singles to join Dewrock with multi-hit games.

"I think they've made an impact (not only) on Kennett softball but just softball in general," said Vaughan of her seniors. "People come out to watch them. They come out and see what it means to work hard and be successful. They look at them as role models and think, 'You know what? If I work hard, maybe I can be what they are.'"

Luce echoed her coach's sentiments.

"It was a great four-year run," said Luce. "I'm sad to see it end but I'm glad to know that there's a future in softball for me. It's a bittersweet ending."

The season is not over for Kennett. The Lady Indians head to Holcomb Thursday before beginning defense of their Bootheel Conference Tournament title next week.

"We've been right there in all four years that these girls have been out here," said Vaughan. "We've been in that conference championship for three and we hope to get back to it this year."