Smythe tosses no-hitter, Bellevue wins big

PERKINS TWP. — Maci Smythe pitched in short sleeves Tuesday. The Bellevue junior had a jacket to wear between innings, but when she took to the circle, her forearms weren't covered. She hadn't brought a warmer alternative on a windy, sub-40 degree day at Sports Force Parks. "I didn't think it was gonna be this cold," Smythe said with a laugh. Good thing Smythe made her innings about as quick as possible, firing a five-inning no-hitter in Bellevue's (2-2, 1-0) 19-0 SBC Lake Division-opening win over Vermilion (0-2, 0-1). Smythe walked two and struck out nine. It was her first no-hitter of the season after throwing a handful as a sophomore, and she added three hits of her own at the plate. "My body was cold, but just playing kept me a little bit warmer," Smythe added. "My fingers could definitely feel it a little bit." Eight different Bellevue players recorded hits in the victory, and 10 crossed the plate to score runs. Kyra Henney drove in five runs, and Melody Sommers delivered an inside-the-park home run. "It was just a great feeling (to get everyone involved)," Guy said. "Each and every one of them, they're a great group of kids." Smythe's approach wasn't complicated. She kept most of her pitches around knee-level. That allowed her infield to back her up with a number of solid plays charging choppers, especially from third baseman Emma Bauer. Maybe the one thing that didn't go right for Smythe was the inside corner to right-handed hitters, which she thought she painted on a number of occasions only for her pitch to be called a ball. But after an extended look toward the plate, Smythe regrouped and fired a strike back on the outside corner. "You could just tell today coming out here, they were ready to go," Guy said. Smythe went 1-2-3 in the first with a strikeout looking on the outside corner to end it. She walked two hitters in the second and had to strand runners at second and third with a hard grounder back to herself. Then she retired the final nine hitters she faced, ending the third with a strikeout, the fourth with two strikeouts and the fifth by striking out the side. Her changeup, which Smythe threw fewer than 10 times, was extremely effective on a per-pitch basis, inducing multiple strikeouts. "Her and Kyra just working together," Guy said of the pitch mix. "They've been working together for a while now, and having that camaraderie, it's great having Kyra back there." Bellevue, which outscored Lake opponents 161-6 a year ago, started that trend almost right away this season. After a scoreless first, the Lady Red pushed across seven in the second. Molly Foos had a two-run single, Emma Bauer hit an RBI single and freshman Payton Hicks roped a line drive to center to score two more runs as part of that frame. Five more runs scored in the third for Bellevue. Taylor Harkness and Ella Messina started the inning off with a single and a walk, then after two errors, Smythe pulled a two-run single through the left side. A few batters later, Hicks dropped a single into right center to score another run. "We just talk about letting the ball get deep and try not to do too much," Guy said. "Most of our hits were to center or right-center, which is great to see." Guy turned to her bench in the fourth inning, which meant sophomore Melody Sommers led off for her first at bat of the day. She drove a ball deep down the right field line, and after a dive attempt missed, Sommers raced all the way around to score an inside-the-park homer. "She did what we talked about, hit the ball where it was pitched," Guy said. "That was awesome for her. I was very proud of her. She's a great kid, and she works hard." Later in the fourth, Bauer crushed a triple to the center field fence to score Makenna Ballin and Smythe. Bellevue scored its final four runs in the fifth, with Henney's bases-clearing double providing the big blow. "It's just a family," Smythe said. "I like seeing my teammates do good, and they like seeing me do good. It's just a whole friendship, family atmosphere." Smythe finished her near-flawless evening with three consecutive strikeouts looking on pitches on the outer half on 2-2 counts. Then she could go put her bulky coat on for good. There's a long way to go before this season's Lake Division championship is decided, and hopefully short sleeves is the more logical attire choice by then. But as Bellevue's bats and Smythe showed Tuesday, the weather won't be a deterrent in their pursuit of a league title repeat. "I know there's some people with a target on their backs, and it's us," Smythe said. "There'll definitely be some challenging games this year, but we're ready." Bellevue 075 34 — 19 12 1Vermilion 000 00 — 0 0 6 WP: Maci Smythe. LP: Gracie Porter 2B: Kyra Henney. 3B: Emma Bauer. HR: Melody Sommers