POPLAR BLUFF – The Three Rivers softball team got back on track with a milestone win for coach Jeff Null on Wednesday as they swept a doubleheader over St. Charles at JD Rains Field. After taking the opener 8-0, the Raiders won the second game 9-2 to give Null his 200th win with Three Rivers.
"It feels pretty cool to have 200 wins," Null said. "I didn't really know if I would get it this year with a little bit of some tough times lately."
With Wednesday's games in the books, Null is now 200-70. That's a winning percentage of .740.
Going into Wednesday, the Raiders had gone though a little bit of a rough patch as they lost six of their last 10 ballgames including a split at St. Charles, but they were able to bounce back and take three out of four for the season series against the Cougars.
"We got the split (Tuesday), we come back here and we're almost perfect except for giving up a couple of runs in the last inning," Null said.
The Raiders' recent stretch of games was on the road and statistically, the Raiders are a little better at home with a record of 16-4 at Rains Field this season while going 15-7 on the road.
In Wednesday's opener, the Raider bats were hot, especially Ann-Marie Simpson as she went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, three runs scored and a long ball while Karlye Happold went 1-for-3 with a couple of RBIs and also went deep. Alyson Marcum was in the circle as she tossed a one-hit shutout for her seventh win of the season.
The Raider offense didn't let up in game two as they batted around in the first to put three runs on the board.
"It definitely makes life a little easier when you can bat around and put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the first inning," Null said.
After the Raiders added a run in the second and two more in the third to make it 6-0, St. Charles finally scored a couple of runs in the sixth off of Makayla Bryant, but that's all the damage they would do as Bryant picked up her 10th win this year.
The bats did their part in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs in order to seal the game away.
Kyla Puckett accounted for three of the Raiders' seven RBIs as she went 1-for-3 while Kenlee McAuliffe made it home safely three times in the leadoff spot.
Looking at the playoff picture, the Raiders are in third behind first place Crowder and Jefferson in second. Three Rivers will be hosting Crowder this weekend.
"Right now it's down to getting through it and seeing who we'll face in the Regional," Null said. "But, we want to go into the postseason playing well."
The Region XVI Tournament will be May 5-7 hosted by St. Charles.
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic