Mapes sisters, 100 strikeout pitchers headline unique softball game
It's fitting one the most unique softball matchups this season, featuring two competing siblings as well as 100 strikeout pitchers, ended in a split.
HILLSDALE — There were already plenty of reasons the varsity softball doubleheader between the Hillsdale Hornets and Reading Rangers was the most unique of the season. Two of the area’s top pitchers were set to duel in the circle. Both entered the night with more than 100 strikeouts this season.
One is an emerging sophomore ace trying to continue elevating a rebuilding Hillsdale program. The other is a junior who had unexpectedly been pushed into Reading’s lead pitching role a season ago and now carried the tradition of a Rangers program that had already won four straight district titles. Then there was the emotional storyline waiting in the infield.
Hillsdale senior Kristyn Mapes stood across from her younger sister, Reading sophomore Jordyn Mapes, for the first — and only — varsity softball matchup of their lives. One sister wore red and yellow. The other wore blue and gold.
By the end of the night, the rivalry fittingly ended with each side claiming a victory. A fitting split Hillsdale rolled to a 13-5 win in the opener behind a dominant strikeout performance from sophomore pitcher Kherington Ladd before Reading answered with an 18-9 victory in the nightcap behind junior ace Leah Headley and a Rangers offensive explosion. For the Mapes sisters, though, the scoreboard was only part of the story.
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