By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats closed their season by playing host to the Twin Rivers Lady Royals on Tuesday afternoon; the Royals capitalized on every mistake the 'Cats made, and rallied for a 13-2 victory in five innings.

Becky Anderson took the start and the loss for the 'Cats; the senior threw all five innings and gave up six earned runs on eight hits, with five walks and three strikeouts.

A loss is never a desirable way to end a season, but head coach Leonard Morse was proud of his young squad's effort throughout his first season as head coach; the 'Cats, 12-8, ended the season with double digit wins for the first time in five years.

"We're a young team, and where we were on March 1 compared to where we are on May 1, it's night and day. We've progressed so far, and even though we got ten-runned tonight, we still showed that we can play with anybody on their schedule," Morse said, "especially after our game last night with Advance, taking a team thats only lost one game all season to extra innings."

"It was a great season," Morse continued. "Considering we were 12-6 headed into our final two games against quality opponents, it was a heck of a season. Our girls are a lot better than what they were, and they've started to come together as a team and figure out what it means to play as a team. Hopefully we can carry that into next season."

The 'Cats were held scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, despite having a baserunner in scoring position in the second, third, and fourth innings. In the fourth, Riley Rickman was tagged out at home advancing on a single hit by Taylor Owens; the next at bat, Tiffany Watson was caught off third and picked off by Maci Shearer.

In the bottom of the fifth, Maddie Christian delivered a hot shot down the third base line for a leadoff single. Ashley Brown followed up with a double, and then Whitney Layton and Kendra Stevenson came through with back-to-back RBI singles. Rickman drove a single to center field to advance Stevenson to third, but the Lady 'Cats were unable to put together any more offense, ending the game after the fifth with a 13-2 loss.

Anderson and Layton were the only seniors on the squad this season, and Morse had nothing but good things to say about the pair.

"I couldn't have asked for two better seniors, especially with Becky moving in during her senior year and being new to the school. She fit in quickly, both on and off the field, and I have nothing but high praise for both of them," he said. "I had Whitney for all four years, and she's been a delight to have on the team. They lead wherever they are at - you can't ask for better seniors than that as a coach."

Photos Above:
Top: Whitney Layton had a solid day at the plate in her last game as a Lady Bearcat; the senior went 2-3 with an RBI.
Bottom: Becky Anderson struck out three batters in her final game in a DHS uniform.