After three tough road games to start the season, the Seymour softball team had its home opener on Tuesday night, and the Owls came away with a 3-2 victory over Henryville.

Head coach Emily Bobb, who celebrated her 26th birthday and got serenaded by the crowd prior to the game, was happy to see her team grab that first W.

“It’s hard starting on the road, especially with the road games we started with,” Bobb said. “It was nice coming home on a beautiful day and just getting that first win under our belt.”

Seymour put up all three of its runs in the second inning when Phoebe Underwood started the inning with a walk.

Alexa Dannettelle then got a single, and Alexia Rieckers also singled to drive in Underwood and make it 1-0.

Avery Stewart then got on base with a walk, and Jamie Bobb hit it in the infield, and the Hornets tried to throw to home for the force out, but the ball went over the catcher’s head to score Rieckers and Stewart to make it 3-0.

“We made those three runs on being aggressive at the plate,” Bobb said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t carry that aggression the rest of the game, and we had some base-running mistakes, but that’s what produced those three runs.”

The Owls were held scoreless the rest of the way, and the Hornets got two back in the top of the fourth inning.

One came off a hit and the other off a wild pitch from Underwood, but Underwood did a nice job limiting the damage and not allowing the Hornets to tie the game with runners in scoring position.

“She did good job on focusing on the here and now, moving forward from that not letting that get to her,” Bobb said of Underwood.

Overall, Underwood had a stellar day in the circle. She only allowed three hits, gave up zero walks and struck out 10 batters.

“My drop curve was definitely working on the outside corner, and when there were two strikes, my rise ball was definitely working very well,” Underwood said.

Bobb was pleased with how many times Underwood’s first pitch resulted in a strike.

“First-pitch strike,” the first-year head coach said. “Going after it with that first pitch. I would bet that 90% of the batters she went first-pitch strike with resulted in an out, and that’s what we’re going for.”

When Underwood was challenged in the fourth inning, she said she just focused on what lied ahead of her rather than what transpired in the plays before.

The sophomore was also happy to get the first win of the season against a team she was familiar with and for her coach on her birthday.

“I think it was really important. First home game, and I know a lot of girls on that team and it was Emily’s birthday, so I really wanted to come out and show up,” Underwood said.

Abby Followell went 2-3 on the day with two doubles, and Stewart went 2-2 with a walk, a single and a double.

“Abby is seeing the ball really well right now. I think she’s on a four-game hitting streak right now, which is awesome for her,” Bobb said. “Avery is coming off an injury, so it was good to see her get some at-bats tonight and put the ball in play.”

Seymour, now at 1-3 this season, will look to keep it rolling on Thursday when the Owls hit the road again at Hauser.

Bobb wants to see a lot of Tuesday’s recipe as the season goes on.

“I want our defense to stay strong, our pitchers to throw first-pitch strikes and our offense to stay aggressive,” she said.

The Owls, who were vocal and energized in the dugout, hope getting this first win can lead to some more. Underwood is confident it will.

“It feels really good, and I think momentum can stay with us,” she said.