By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers improved to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play with an easy doubleheader sweep of Mountain Home on Friday in Cabot. The Lady Panthers won 16-0 and 18-0 over the Lady Bombers. Kaitlyn Felder stayed on the mound for both games for just seven innings of work.
She threw a no-hitter in a four-inning game one, striking out five and walking one. In game two, Felder fanned two and walked none.
She also ended game one at the plate, hammering a two-run home run over the fence in left field that scored Megan Goodnight, who had singled with one out.
Goodnight went 4 for 4 at the plate, including a two-out, solo home run in the first inning that triggered a two-out, three-run rally. Felder, Erin Eckert, Rachel Allgood and Hannah Montgomery all singled after Goodnight’s home run to give Cabot a 3-0 lead.
Felder struck out the side in the top of the second inning and Cabot added six more runs on four singles, a walk, an error and a two-RBI double by Allgood in the bottom half.
Leading 9-0, the Lady Panthers pushed the lead to 13-0 in the third. Goodnight and Felder got back-to-back, one-out singles and Eckert reached on an error at third base. Allgood, Montgomery and Ashlyn Spears then got consecutive base hits and Shauna Attendorn hit a sacrifice fly that scored Montgomery for the final run of the inning.
Cabot got 17 base hits and Mountain Home committed five errors to aid the home team’s cause. Allgood, Montgomery and Felder each got three base hits to go with Goodnight’s four.
The Lady Panthers didn’t score in the first inning of game two, but exploded for 17 runs in the top of the second. Cabot posted six doubles, three singles and a triple while Mountain Home committed four errors in the inning. Allgood got two base hits in the inning, including the triple and one of the singles. Macee Abbott, Lauren McCluskey, Goodnight and Felder hit four-straight doubles before Allgood tripled.
Montgomery then singled, followed by a Heather Hill double, a McCluskey single and before Goodnight and Felder got their second doubles of the inning.
Cabot’s final run came in the top of the third without a base hit. Abbott reached on an error to lead things off. Hill walked before Bethany Knowles reached on a fielder’s choice that got Hill out at second. Anna Beth Duncan then grounded out to third base to score Knowles from third.
McCluskey, Goodnight, Felder, Allgood and Abbott got two base hits each while Hill and Montgomery picked up the Lady Panthers’ other two hits. Felder and Abbott led the way with three runs batted in while Hill and McCluskey got two RBIs apiece.
The Lady Panthers are scheduled to play a nonconference game at home on Thursday against Jacksonville.
