Shadyside Earns Win Over Linsly Softball, 9-7
Brown, Honeywell, Saxton Power Tigers
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WHEELING - Finishing a game with 14 hits is always a nice thing, but stringing hits together with runners in scoring position is what can make the difference between a win and a loss.
Coach Bob Gorrell's powerful Shadyside team managed to come up with big hits in key situations Thursday afternoon while other than one inning, Linsly struggled to get the hit they needed, stranding nine runners in the contest, including six in scoring position.
Senior standouts Gentry Brown and Bella Honeywell combined for five hits and four RBI and sophomore Ariana Saxton clubbed a seventh inning home run for a little insurance while the Tigers withstood a late Cadets' rally to hand on for a hard-fought 9-7 victory at Holloway Field on the Linsly campus.
The victory improves Gorrell's Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class AA leaders to 13-2 on the season, including six wins in a row, with a good Berne Union team slated to pay a visit to Tigertown this afternoon. Meanwhile, coach Paul Recrosio's 5-6 Linsly squad falls to 5-6, coming off a darkness delayed 8-8 standoff with unbeaten Martins Ferry on Wednesday, and will travel to Cameron on Monday.
"The bats came through when we needed them (Thursday)," Gorrell said with a smile. "Timely hits can turn a game around and we did a great job with that. But that is what these girls do. They really want it this year and they are always ready to fight to the end."
Shadyside took the early lead in the second inning when Brown ripped a ground-rule double to left with Honeywell chasing her home a few pitches later with an RBI double to center for a 1-0 reading.
It stayed that way until the top of the fourth when senior Mady Violet reached on an infield single and pinch-runner Mackenzie Zdunczyk advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base. Zdunczyk eventually scored on winning pitcher Taylor Fulton's RBI squeeze bunt for a 2-0 count.
The Tigers doubled the lead in the fifth when senior Mary Smith collected a one-out single, stole second and scored on Brown's two-out double. Honeywell then chased Brown home with a run-scoring base hit and a 4-0 advantage.
Linsly, which had only one hit through four innings, got the bats going in the fifth with seven hits and six runs to take its only lead of the day. Alyssa Tomlin got things going with a lead-off walk before the Cadets loaded the bases with back-to-back base hits. Lexie Finley had an RBI single while Alayna Cook and Baeleigh Burwell each ripped two-run doubles. Alyssa Heath capped the onslaught with an RBI single that gave Linsly a 6-4 lead.
However, as good as the Cadets' offense was in the bottom of the fifth, the defense cost them in the top of the sixth. Shadyside had four hits in the frame but was also able to take advantage of four Linsly errors in the frame. Abby Gorrell, Smith and Brown all had run-scoring base hits in the inning as the Tigers regained the upperhand at 8-6.
Saxton made it a 9-6 score with a two-out bomb in the top of the seventh before Linsly started making noise again in the home-half of the frame.
With one out Reagan VanSyoc singled and went to second on an error before scoring on Heath's second RBI single to make it 9-7. A Tomlin single and a walk loaded the bases for the hosts. However, Fulton got a strikeout for the second out of the seventh before Brown's running over the shoulder catch in short left field ended the threat and the game.
"Our fielding was spot on once again and our pitcher was hitting her spots all day," Gorrell added. "We are on a roll right now and I really love it. These girls have put in a lot of work, and it is truly paying off."
Brown finished with a single, two doubles and two RBI while Honeywell had a single, double and two RBI. Smith, Rylie Fulton and Saxton each contributed a pair of hits for the winners as well. Cook had two doubles and two RBI for the losers while Heath added two singles and chased home a pair.
The Tigers out-hit the Cadets by a 14-11 margin.
Taylor Fulton had six strikeouts and three walks to get the complete game win in the circle.
"We have to play our game, one pitch at a time and we left too many runners on base," Recrosio admitted. "But this is a game we can build off of.
"Their big inning in the sixth cost us. There were some tough plays in the field, and while we have a lot of kids playing out of position, they are plays we expect to make. This was a fun, competitive game to watch."