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Brown’s single caps rally for SM victory
Miriam Brown’s two-out single in the seventh Friday drove in the winning run for Smoky Mountain capping a rally from a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 Western Athletic Conference softball victory at North Henderson.
Kelly Lossiah’s single and an error preceded Brown’s base hit.
The Lady Mustangs improved to 11-9 overall and 6-2 in the WAC.
“We fought back and deserved to win, but we played five ugly innings,” Coach Tony Quinn said. “No one was hitting.”
SM’s Megan Taylor and North’s Alex Strickland were locked in a pitchers’ dual until the Lady Knights scored three unearned runs in the fifth. An error opened the gates, and Kristen Nicholson’s double was the first hit off Taylor since the game’s first batter. Brianna Jackson had a two-run single, and Kasey Gibbs’ RBI double made it 3-0.
Smoky Mountain right fielder Heather Mathis makes a catch in Friday’s 4-3 win at North Henderson. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
Chelsea Elders singled to start the Lady Mustang sixth, and two errors loaded the bases with one out. Jessica Cabe’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1, and the other runners advanced to second and third on the throw. Trish Brooks delivered a two-run single for a 3-3 tie.
North had the tying run on third with two out in the bottom of the seventh, but a ground ball to Elders at third ended the game.
Both pitchers finished with a five-hitter. Taylor struck out 13 and walked two. Strickland allowed no walks and fanned four.
Nicholson, who went two of four, was the only player in the game with more than one hit.
The Lady Mustangs played for the first time without leadoff hitter Cassie Randall, who suffered a sprained ankle in a game two days earlier.
“We weren’t ready for the game, or maybe I was overconfident,” Quinn said. “We were a little down playing without Cassie. Not having Cassie is big.”
He also gave credit to the Lady Knights for never giving up and putting pressure on his team.
“Megan pitched a strong game,” the coach said.
He pointed out that Brown, Elders, Brooks and Lossiah all had key hits.
The Lady Mustangs JVs fell to 1-11 with a 14-1 loss. Only two innings were played before rain cancelled the rest of the contest.
“The girls were hitting great,” Coach Shawn Blanton said. “We threw the ball around too much on defense.”
He noted the team now has just six permanent players with other spots being filled in with sophomores from the varsity.
“It’s hard to build any team chemistry like that,” Blanton said.
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