ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen held off a 4-run, seventh-inning rally and defeated West Columbus 8-7 Friday night in Three Rivers Conference softball action.
The Lady Eagles took an 8-3 lead into the seventh, but Lady Viking sophmore Leah Floyd clubbed a triple to right-centerfield to start the inning. Two hit batters sandwiched around an error plus a fielder’s choice and two wild pitches produced 4 runs.
Junior rightfielder Olivia Hollingsworth caught a line drive for the second out, and a ground out to thirdbaseman Kaley Smith ended the game.
Freshman Kayleigh Raynor picked up the pitching victory with 4 innings of relief. Raynor allowed 5 runs – 2 earned – on 5 hits, 2 hit batters and 2 walks while striking out four.
Smith pitched the first 3 innings for East Bladen and gave up 2 runs – one earned – on 3 hits and a hit batter while striking out one.
The Lady Eagles jumped in front with four first-inning runs. Raynor drew a lead-off walk and raced home when junior Erica McKoy smashed a double to right-centerfield.
Smith reached base on an error, and a pair of throwing errors scored McKoy and Smith. Sophmore Johanna Parker reached base on a throwing error and scored on junior Anna Kate White’s fielder’s choice.
Emily Britt raked a single to left in the Lady Viking second and scooted home when Brittany Barnhill blooped a single to leftfield.
East Bladen padded the lead to 7-1 in the home second. Sophmore Abbie Cross beat out an infield hit, and junior Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson laid down a bunt single. Raynor drilled a shot off the secondbaseman’s leg that scored Cross.
Smith laced a single to left that drove in Moore-Peterson, and Raynor scooted home on a throwing error.
Floyd yanked a single to left and circled the bases on an error and a fielder’s choice to trim the margin to 7-2 in the third inning. Ashley Washington knocked in another run with a fourth inning single to narrow the gap to 7-3.
McKoy pounded a triple over the centerfielder’s head in the East fourth inning and darted home on Smith’s fielder’s choice for an 8-3 lead.
Raynor finished 2-3 at the plate with 2 runs scored and a run batted in to lead the Lady Eagle hitters. McKoy batted 2-4 with a double, a triple, an rbi and 2 runs scored. Moore-Peterson was 2-3 at the plate with a run scored.
Smith cracked an rbi single and scored a run. Cross added the infield hit, and Cross and Parker scored runs. White drove in a run.
Floyd, the West Columbus pitcher, batted 2-4 with the triple. Teammate Kristen Meares slammed a double.
“We have come a long way,” said East Bladen Coach Chase Lancaster. “Kayleigh and Kaley both stepped up pitching for us. It got close at the end but we worked it out. These girls are just going to get better. I am proud of them.”
The Lady Eagles, now 2-2, will host Fairmont Tuesday night.
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