Softball: Overton secures series sweep, defeats Elysian Fields in five innings

Published 2:41 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2026

ELYSIAN FIELDS – After opening district play with a 10-2 win over Elysian Fields, the Overton Lady Mustangs secured the series sweep with a 16-5 run rule victory in five innings over the Lady Jackets.

Kelsey Vaught led Overton in hits with three including a RBI single. Sophie Shahzad followed with two hits and three RBI.

Vaught started in the circle for Overton. She pitched five innings, allowing six hits, five runs, two earned, one walk and seven strike outs.

Madison Owens and Cloey Davis led Elysian Fields in hits with two apiece. Owens tripled twice and collected four RBI. Both of Davis’ hits were singles.

“Owens showed out tonight. I could overhear their coaches talking about her. They were trying to hit every corner they could and she was all over the ball. That’s why she’s in the four hole. She can see the ball really well, reads good pitches and gets on base,” said Elysian Fields head coach Madison Netherland.

Harper Day took the loss for the Lady Jackets. She pitched three innings, allowing six hits, 10 runs, four earned, two walks and four strike outs. Taylor Youngblood pitched two innings in relief. She surrendered six hits, six runs, three earned and three walks.

Overton came out in the first inning on a heater. Picking up from their opener, they scored five runs. Anna Perkins led the inning off with a double, Bryleigh Nelson brought her in with a RBI double, Kasha Williams was hit by pitch, Vaught notched a RBI single, Kimber Mathis reached on an error which allowed Williams to score and Colvin brought in Mathis on a RBI ground out to Day.

Kirsten Commander started off the bottom of the first with a single. Day reached on an error and Owens brought in Day and Commander on an error. Heading into the second inning, Overton maintained a 5-2 lead.

Day rebounded in the second inning, retiring the Lady Mustangs in order but the Lady Jackets couldn’t capitalize on opportunities in the inning.

After Kasha Williams was hit by a pitch, Vaught doubled and Mathis walked to load the bases with no outs, Skyler Colvin drew a RBI walk to extend their lead to 6-2. Kyuana Brown brought in Vaught on a groundout and Mathis scored on an error. Fender brought in Colvin on an RBI single but Day was able to strike out Bryleigh Nelson to stop the damage. The Lady Mustangs held a formidable 10-2 lead heading into the bottom of the third.

Madison Giddens reached first on an error and Owens roped a triple on a line drive to right field to bring in pinch runner Kyndall Anderson. Overton still maintained a 10-3 lead heading into the fourth.

Youngblood entered the game in relief of Day in the top of the fourth. Williams drew a walk and Mathis brought her in on a double to center field. After a single by Colvin, Mathis scored on an error. Levoy reached on an infield single to Youngblood to bring in Colvin. The Lady Mustangs led 13-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Vaught retired the Lady Jackets with ease to bring their heated offense back at the dish.

Overton continued to put their foot on the gas to ensure Elysian Fields would need to put up an intense battle to mount a comeback.

Fenter led off with a single, Williams walked and Vaught singled to load the bases. Fenter scored on an error to extend the lead to 15-3. Colvin walked and pinch hitter Makayla Edwards brought in Vaught on a ground out to give the Lady Mustangs a 16-3 lead over the Lady Jackets.

The Lady Jackets tried their hardest to continue the game and not get run ruled. Giddens drew a lead off walk and Owens ripped her second triple of the evening to bring in Anderson. Rylee Deal brought in Owens on a ground out. Davis singled but their efforts weren’t enough as Overton secured the 16-5 victory.

“We had some newcomers come in that hadn’t gotten to hit this season. Cloey got on base every time. One of them was reaching on an error and the other two were running out little bloopers. Rylee had a good at bat and RBI. A lot of newcomers coming in and just being able to see pitches and putting them in play is huge. This is going to show a lot of growth throughout the season,” said Netherland.

Despite the rough outing for the Lady Jackets, there was a renewed sense of energy and leadership that was pretty much absent last season. Even with the struggles in the circle and at the plate, their communication and talking up everyone on the field was a refreshing sight for everyone.

“Abby [Hooten] called time on her own to talk to Harper and the infield. She’s a sophomore and did it on her own. The dugout was full of energy every single time. That’s something these kids have not struggled with a lot this year because I tell them to keep the energy up. That’s how you get momentum back on our side. They got that energy up in the dugout but they have to find a way to carry it over to the field,” said Netherland. “That’s the hard thing about softball. It’s a mental game but a lot of good things are happening. I think we can build off of tonight and continue to grow throughout the season.”