A nine-win team isn’t expected to have much trouble handling a one-team team, right?

Well, that’s why they play the game.

The Fayette County Lady Tigers traveled to Tyrone to play the Sandy Creek Lady Patriots on Wednesday, and they were aiming to pick up only their second win of the year. At the completion of the top of the third inning, Fayette, with a 3-0 lead, appeared to be on its way.

But Creek tied the game in the bottom half of the inning with three runs and went on to score a run each in the fifth and sixth innings to beat Fayette 5-3 for their 10th win of the season.

Despite winning, Creek coach Lisa Pearce was displeased with her team’s performance.

“I’m disappointed in this game,” Pearce said. “If our goals are what we say they are — to win the region and go to state — then we have a long way to go.”

Three of the first three Fayette batters reached in the third — Whitney Carter and Britt Hammel-Cobb walked, Minnie Holmes singled — to load the bases for the Lady Tigers’ top hitter, Chasity Welch.

Welch drew a walk to score Fayette’s first run, and Shanna Kirkpatrick followed with an RBI single that landed just inside the right field line and put Fayette ahead 2-0.

One out later, Welch scored on a passed ball.

Creek pitcher Hannah Braswell finally worked her way of the jam and ended the inning by inducing India Morgan to fly out to right field.

The Lady Patriots came back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring a run on Dani Frazier’s single to right field and two runs on Candace Dunn’s triple off the base of the left-field fence to tie the game at 3.

Hailey Williams put Creek in front for good in the fifth by leading off with a triple to right field and scoring on a wild pitch.

In the sixth, Creek’s Andrea Dalton led off with a triple to right field and came home two batters later on Megan Kallatsa's squeeze bunt to complete the scoring.

Freshman Blair Byrom came on in relief of Braswell to start the fifth, and she was effective, holding Fayette to three hits and no runs in three innings to record the victory.

Braswell struck out six and gave up three hits, three walks and three runs in four innings.

Fayette stranded six runners. It threatened as late as the seventh inning, when, with a runner on second and two outs, Welch came to the plate as the tying run.

Welch was just the player Fayette wanted at the plate, but Byrom won the showdown, getting Welch to ground out to third to end the game.

“We had our chances,” Fayette coach Jill Joiner said. “We got some unlucky breaks. As I always say, it takes a little bit of luck to win in softball.”

Joiner feels her team is improving and slowly building confidence.

“We have worked hard, and it’s coming together,” Joiner said. “Confidence breeds confidence.”

login to post comments