By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcat softball team struggled in its home contest against the Malden Lady Green Wave on Tuesday afternoon; the Wave only scored four hits in the game, but 17 walks given up by Dexter's pitching staff allowed Malden to post a 21-10 victory.

The Lady Bearcats took an early 6-0 lead thanks to a 2 RBI double by Emily Triplett in the first inning, and a RBI double from Taylor Owens and a 2 RBI single from Kendra Stevenson in the second.

The Green Wave offense had a productive third inning, scoring five runs off one hit, three walks, and four errors by the Lady 'Cats. The Lady Bearcats were three up, three down in the bottom of the third, and the Green Wave continued its barrage, scoring four runs without recording a hit in the inning to take a 9-6 lead.

The Lady 'Cats were again three up, three down in the bottom of the fourth inning, while Malden recorded four more runs without a single hit; the Green Wave held a commanding 13-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

After a leadoff line-out to third base by Owens to open the fifth inning, Stevenson and Triplett got on base with back-to-back singles. Riley Rickman drove in Stevenson with a double, and Tiffany Watson brought home Triplett with a single to pull the Lady 'Cats within five runs heading into the sixth inning.

Malden was held to just one run in the top of the sixth inning, while Dexter stranded runners on second and third. In the seventh inning, the Green Wave plated seven runs to set the score at 21-8. Diana Gilliam and Ashley Brown both drove in runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Lady 'Cats weren't able to recover from the big deficit, and ended the game with a 21-10 final score.

The Lady Bearcats will be back in action on Monday (April 9) when they host the New Madrid County Central Lady Eagles. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., weather permitting.