FAIRMONT – West Bladen held off a 4-run Fairmont rally in the 7th inning and escaped with a 9-8 Southeastern Athletic Conference softball victory Friday night.
Coach Kaitlyn Sykes’ Lady Knights evened their SAC record at 4-4 and are 4-7 overall. West Bladen will host West Columbus Monday in a non-conference game. The Lady Tornadoes drop to 2-6 in the league and 4-14 overall.
A 1-out error, a Skyler McNeill single and a walk loaded the bases in the Fairmont 7th. Senior Gracie Faircloth relieved junior Marlene Crabtree in the circle and struck out the 1st batter she faced. Kensley Newberry walked to force home a run.
Freshman Layla Hunt dribbled a grounder down the 1st baseline that scored 2 runners. Kimberleigh Stevens walked, and Newberry scored on a wild pitch to whittle the lead to 9-8. Crabtree who had moved to 2nd base squeezed a pop-up to end the game.
Crabtree pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 7 runs – 3 earned – on 9 hits and 6 walks while striking out 4 to earn the win. Faircloth worked 0.2 innings giving up a run on a hit and 2 walks while striking out 1 to record the save.
Sophomore Brenna Hester batted 3-for-4 and scored a run to lead the West hitters. Faircloth finished 2-for-4 at the plate with 2 runs batted in and 2 runs scored. Sophomore Kali Allen batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Juniors Kallie Bass and Holland Davis belted singles. Bass had 2 RBIs. Davis scored 2 runs, and Bass, Natalee Sykes and Crabtree scored runs.
Singles by freshmen Zoree Chavis and Layla Hunt sandwiched around a walk to Mary Cummings resulted in a Fairmont run in the 1st inning.
Allen answered in the Lady Knight 2nd inning beating out an infield hit and circling the bases on a pair of errors to tie the game 1-1.
Faircloth led off the Lady Knight 3rd inning with a single to right field, and Davis raced all the way to 3rd base on a throwing error. Faircloth sprinted home on the same error. Allen drilled a single to center field that scored Faircloth and padded the lead to 3-1.
Singles by Stevens and Gabriell Stackhouse sandwiched around another Cummings walk produced another Tornado run in the 3rd.
Crabtree drew a lead-off walk in the 4th, and Hester dotted the right field line with a single. Faircloth lined a single to right that scored Crabtree and Hester. Davis’ launched a bloop behind 1st base that dropped. Both runners advanced on Marlie Walters’ fielder’s choice, and Bass sliced a single to left that brought home Faircloth and Davis for a 7-2 lead.
Sykes reached on an error, and Hester ripped a single to center field to begin the 5th inning. Sykes darted home on a wild pitch to boost the lead to 8-2.
Stevens raked a single to left in the Tornado 5th, stole a base and scored on a passed ball to trim the margin to 8-3.
Bass was hit by a pitch in the 6th inning, and Allen reached base on an error. Bass dashed home on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to 9-3.
Newberry cracked a 2-out single in the Fairmont 6th inning, Hunt walked, and Stevens drove in Newberry with a single to close the gap to 9-4.
Stevens batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Hunt was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Newberry finished with a single, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Chavis went the distance in the circle and allowed 9 runs – 4 earned – on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.
West Bladen 012 411 0 — 9- 9-2
Fairmont 101 011 4 — 8-10-5
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