Hornettes get 800th program win this weekend with romp over Lady Cats

Jill Kuhl connected with a walk off home run in the sixth as the Hornettes win their 800th career victory at home against the Salem Lady Cats Saturday afternoon.

Nashville jumped to an early 2-1 lead in the fourth before the bats started to pop off one inning later. Four Hornettes would each drive in two runs batted in during the fifth, including two singles by Valerie Combs and Colleen Jahnke and two home runs by Josie Woodrome and Ryan Stiegman. The Hornettes ended the fifth on top 10-2.

Kuhl’s blast in the sixth drove in three RBIs for the end score of 13-2.

The Hornettes earlier in the day won a thriller against O’Fallon, 10-6. Colleen Jahnke hit a full count double in the sixth to give Nashville its first lead of the game. The Hornettes would go on to score three more runs that inning.

Helen Dude who started the program in 1975 was given a signed game ball after the Salem game to commemorate the milestone victory. Dude spoke about the challenges she faced in trying to begin

“The girls had played slow pitch and did not know how to do the windmill pitch and we were just starting from scratch,” Dude said.

The Nashville Hornettes have brought back Looking back on the success of the Nashville softball program, Dude said she is proud of each accomplishment.

“It is an absolute dream come true,” she said. “When we first started out, I would go to the state championships and I would think, ‘Oh if only some day.’ And here we have been there three times. The girls have come such a long way, and I am so proud of them. I watched these girls who are playing now play in middle school.”