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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
DUBLIN- West Bladen’s Lady Knights held off a pair of East Bladen rallies and defeated the Lady Eagles 7-5 Tuesday night in Three Rivers Conference softball action.
West Bladen grabbed a 2-0 first inning lead when sophomore Kyla Reed was hit by a pitch and sprinted home when sophomore Alara Cashwell drilled a triple into the right field corner. Sophomore Jordan Benson, the courtesy runner for Cashwell, dashed home on senior Abby Dawson’s fielder’s choice.
The Lady Knights padded the lead to 4-0 in the second inning. Freshman Shelby Pharr walked, and senior Elizabeth Allbright lined a single to rightfield. Junior Carley Dawson raked a single through the left side to drive in Pharr.
Reed beat out an infield hit, and Cashwell belted a single to centerfield that scored Carley Dawson.
East Bladen rallied with 3 runs in the third inning. Sophmore Abbie Cross poked an infield hit to the right side, and freshman Kayleigh Raynor ripped a single to leftfield. Junior Erica McKoy forced Cross out at third, but senior Kaley Smith swatted a single to left-centerfield that scored Raynor.
Freshman Alyssa Futrell walked, and senior Faith Johnson yanked a single to left that scored McKoy. Junior Anna Kate White smacked a single to center that scored Smith and closed the gap to 4-3.
West Bladen answered with 2 runs in the fourth inning. Cashwell drew a 2-out walk, and her courtesy runner Benson scooted all the way to third base on a wild pitch then scored on another wild pitch.
Abby Dawson punched an infield hit to the right side, advanced on a passed ball and darted home when senior Brittney Landreth delivered a single to centerfield that upped the count to 6-3.
Freshman Alyssa Suggs drew a lead-off walk in the Knight fifth inning, advanced on a wild pitch and a passed ball then scored on Allbright’s fielder’s choice for a 7-3 lead.
East Bladen sliced the lead to 7-5 in the sixth inning. Junior Olivia Hollingsworth laced a single to left, and sophmore Johanna Parker hammered a double to left-centerfield. Cross’ fielder’s choice plated Hollingsworth, and Raynor clubbed a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Parker.
Landreth batted a perfect 2-2 with a run batted in for the Lady Knights. Cashwell finished 2-3 at the plate with a triple and 2 rbi’s. Abby Dawson batted 2-4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Carley Dawson cracked an rbi single and scored a run. Reed and Allbright added one hit each. Benson scored twice, and Suggs, Pharr and Reed scored a run each. Allbright had one rbi.
Collins pitched a complete game to pick up the win for West, allowing 5 runs on 12 hits and a walk while striking out two.
“Our defense just kept holding,” said West Bladen Coach Pam Stephens. “This is the second game in a row that we have played errorless ball and we won both of them.”
White batted 3-4 with an rbi to lead the Lady Eagles. Hollingsworth finished 2-4 with a run scored, and Parker doubled and scored. Raynor, McKoy, Smith, Futrell, Johnson and Cross added one hit each.
Raynor, Smith, Johnson and Cross drove in runs. Raynor, McKoy, and Smith scored one run each.
“We hit the ball well,” said East Bladen Coach Chase Lancaster. “I am pleased with the way we played. The girls just kept fighting back. We were maybe 3 plays away from turning the game around.”
Smith pitched the first 1.2 innings for East Bladen and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, a walk and a hit batter. Raynor relieved her and worked 4.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, 5 walks and a hit batter.
West Bladen travels to Fairmont Wednesday night, while East Bladen will host unbeaten Whiteville Wednesday night.
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