Derby softball comes back to beat Goddard

Christy Weve wasn’t quite sure what to make of her Derby softball team heading into Tuesday’s game against Goddard. The Panthers were relaxed and confident despite the fact they were about to face one of the most consistently strong programs in the Wichita area.

Even when Derby fell behind by four runs twice, there wasn’t a sudden surge of stress.

The Panthers rallied in the fifth and sixth innings to beat Goddard 8-6 and improve to 6-0. Derby also beat Dodge City 15-5 in five innings, while Goddard (3-1) beat Dodge City 16-1 in three.

“Goddard, they’re great every year and their pitcher is super good,” Weve said. “To get down and to fight back, to get down and to fight back again, that says a lot. They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

Derby has had four run-rule victories, but early on struggled to hit Goddard pitcher Julisa Ortega, who faced seven batters through the first two innings.

“Toward the beginning of the game, I don’t think we played very well,” Derby senior Kenzie Young said. “Julisa got us with our bats. We kept popping things up. We were out in front a lot.

“It’s a huge win. Us seniors have never beat Goddard before. Normally when we play them, we play awful.”

The Lions scored twice in the second on RBIs by Micah North and Talli Shepherd, then Ortega hit a two-run double in the third for a 4-0 lead.

While Derby scored twice in the bottom of the third, scoring on a wild pitch and then getting a Kori Tullis RBI double, Ortega hit a two-run triple in the top of the fifth for the 6-2 lead.

“I liked how we came out and hit the ball early,” Goddard coach Rita Smith said. “I think we kind of had a letdown when we were up.… We have to put the hammer down and just try to get as many runs across as you can.”

Derby freshman shortstop Madi Young opened the fifth with a single and then a stolen base. Kenzie Young followed her sister with an RBI double. Two batters later, Tullis hit an RBI triple.

Addie Parks and Madi Werner followed with RBIs as Derby tied the score at 6-all. Young and Olivia Steinert scored Derby’s runs in the sixth.

“I think we came out a little unsteady, but we strung it all together when we started hitting,” said Steinert, Derby’s second baseman. “We got a little bit more confidence.”

Derby’s defense helped, too. In the fifth following Ortega’s triple with no outs, Steinert dove to catch a liner and then threw to third for the double play.

“Literally, I was like goosebumps in the outfield,” Young said. “I thought it was the third out, so I started running it. It was awesome.”

Goddard had runners on second and third in the sixth, but Derby pitcher Olivia Depew, who came on in relief in the third, set down the game’s final five batters.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Derby softball comes back to beat Goddard."