Central High School softball walks-off rival Benton in season opener

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) - The Central High School softball team earned a wild 9-8 comeback victory over rival Benton on Thursday night to open the regular season.

The Lady Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead early. Then in the bottom of the 2nd, the Lady Indians had 2 home runs from junior Abigail Koelzer and sophomore Delaney Bensyl as Central would take a 4-2 lead.

Benton then struck back in the top of the 5th on a 3-run home run from junior Shania Noland as the Lady Cardinals got back in the lead, 5-4.

Central then tied it at 5 but in the top of the 7th, senior Torri Barron hit a 3-run home run to give the Benton Lady Cardinals an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th.

But down 3 runs, Central was unphased, RBIs from senior Shae Davison, sophomore Sofie Rogers and junior Mattea Johnson scoring a run on an error tied the game at 8-8.

Junior October Johnson, a former Lafayette player, delivered the knockout blow with a deep hit to left field that landed just fair, scoring the winning run for Central.

"It felt amazing. It's a lot different carrying the team in blue now, but it felt amazing," said Johnson. "We've always wanted to go after it. We did it in green, but we did it in blue. I really had to be there for my team, and I kept going. My mindset was yes, yes, yes. There was no nos about it, and it felt really good."

"We just didn't want to let the game get out of the hand, give up and just kind of keep fighting back," said Central head coach Jeff Leake. "That's what I told them when we came in here. I just said, hey, one quality at bat at a time, one quality bat at a time."

Delaney Bensyl finished 1-for-3 with 3 RBI for Central and a home run, Shae Davison was 4-for-4 with 1 RBI, Sofie Rogers was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, Abigail Koelzer was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI and a home run, Mattea Johnson was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI. October Johnson finished 1-for-4 with 1 RBI.

For Benton, Shania Noland was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a home run, Noland added 9 strikeouts on the mound but gave up 10 hits and 8 runs in 6 innings pitched. Torri Barron was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and a home run, and freshman Mackenzie Swartz was 1-for-3 with 1 RBI.

Central next will play at Ruskin on Monday, August 31st at 4 pm. Benton will next host South Harrison on Tuesday, September 1st at 5 pm.