A pair of Superconference opponents began their respective seasons  last night in the KCII Area Game of the Week, with Hillcrest Academy softball taking down the Winfield-Mt. Union Wolves 18-9.

The Ravens wasted no time jumping out in front, thanks to an RBI-double from Delaney Shaw in the first. WMU answered in the bottom half in what would be a theme throughout the contest. Hillcrest saw the leadoff hitter reach safely and score in each of the next three innings to help build a 9-3 lead into the fifth. It was then that the Wolves moved Quin Smith to the pitching circle, who silenced the Raven bats for two innings.

This opened the door for the WMU offense, which cut it to 9-5 in the bottom of the fifth before tying things at nine in the very next frame. Leading the offense with a 3-3 performance and two knocked in was Wolves starting pitcher Makiah Lower. Smith went 1-3 and recorded two RBI’s of her own.

Facing a potential implosion, the Raven offense remained cool and collected, exploding to a nine-run seventh. The exclamation point of the frame was a 3-run home run from Shaw which put Hillcrest back on top. She would finish with a game-high 5 RBI’s. Claire Withrow and Malia Yoder each knocked in two on the night for a Raven team that recorded six hits and nine runs on both WMU pitchers they faced. A nine-run lead was plenty for Yoder to close things out, finishing the outing with 14 strikeouts and just three hits allowed.

Both squads will hit the diamond next to face Lone Tree. Winfield-Mt. Union will seek its first conference win tonight, while the 1-0 Ravens host the Lions next Tuesday.