West Bladen’s Lady Knights rallied for 5 runs in the seventh inning to force extra innings, then scored 4 runs in the ninth to post a 14-10 Four County Conference victory at Wallace-Rose Hill Thursday night.
Wallace-Rose Hill carried a 9-5 lead into the top of the seventh, but walks to sophmores Alanna Ludlum, Kassidy Anderson and Jenna Dove loaded the bases. Sophmore Logan Autry cracked a 2-run single that plated Ludlum and Anderson and sliced the margin to 9-7.
Sophmore Sophia Singletary beat out a bunt single, and senior Morgan Sweeney knocked in Autry with a double. Senior Amber Bills smacked a 2-run single that scored Singletary and Sweeney for a 10-9 West lead.
The Lady Bulldogs sent the game to extra innings with a run in the home half of the seventh.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Bills led off the ninth with a single, and stole second base. Senior Nicole Wyatt ripped a shot to shortstop, but the throw sailed over the firstbaseman’s head, allowing Bills to race home with the go-ahead run.
Sophmore Laikyn Pait and Anderson belted run-scoring singles later in the inning as the Lady Knights built a 4-run lead.
Sweeney picked up the pitching victory with 5.1 innings of 2-hit, 3-run relief, striking out five and walking five. Wyatt started in the circle for West Bladen and worked the first 3.2 innings, giving up 7 runs – 5 earned – on 8 hits and a walk, while striking out three.
The Lady Knights grabbed a 2-0 first inning lead as Sweeney and Wyatt drew walks. Pait drove in Sweeney with a single, and senior Allison Thompson, the courtesy runner for Wyatt, scored on Ludlum’s sacrifice fly.
The Lady Bulldogs pulled even with 2 runs in the bottom of the first. In the West Bladen third, Singletary walked, and Sweeney swatted a single, before Wyatt walloped a 3-run homer to put the Lady Knights ahead 5-2.
Wallace answered with 5 runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-5 lead. Pitcher Haley Rivenbark clubbed a grand-slam home run to highlight the inning. The Lady Bulldogs added 2 more runs in the sixth to pad the lead to 9-5.
Sweeney led the Lady Knight hitters with a 3-4 game that included a double and a run-batted-in. Wyatt slugged the home run and a single to drive in 4 runs.
Bills knocked in 3 runs with a pair of singles, and Pait finished 2-4 with 2 rbi’s. Autry was 2-5 with 2 rbi’s. Anderson batted 2-4 with an rbi. Ludlum and Singletary added a single each, and Ludlum had an rbi.
Coach Pam Stephens’ Lady Knights improved to 6-2 in the Four County and 9-5 overall.
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