Lady Backs tame Acorn
The Lady Backs saved their best for last.
Arkansas High defeated Acorn, 8-4, at Lady Backs Field on Senior Night.
“It’s always good to win on Senior Night,” AHS head softball coach Elizabeth Tankersley said. “Our seniors came up big for us tonight and that’s what it’s all about.”
Acorn put up three runs before AHS answered back.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Lady Backs’ bats came alive.
Kailyn Fortenberry put AHS on the board with her double, while teammates Sydnee Blackwell and Adison Wright each drove in runs with singles to tie the game at 3-all.
Blackwell finished her night going 2 for 3 for the Lady Backs with an RBI and scored two runs.
Wright led the Lady Backs at the dish with a double, single and 2 RBI and scored a run.
“A win like this is big-time,” Tankersley said. “They’re a
good team; that’s why we wanted to play them. We’re going to give up runs, we know that. Our biggest thing is being able to replace those runs and to continue to fight back.
“I think it’s huge going into El Dorado on Thursday. We got down bad here when we played them and came back to make it a ball game. We just need to ride the momentum out.”
Fortenberry received the win in the circle for AHS. Fortenberry pitched seven innings, gave up four runs and five hits in the win. She also went 2 for 4 at the dish with a double, single, an RBI and scored a run.
“She’s resilient; that’s why she’s out there on the mound,” Tankersley said. “She’s our workhorse and that’s all she knows how to do. I’m glad it’s on her now. I only had to make one trip to the mound. Kailey Burns has been doing a great job of going to the mound, and that’s what we want from those two.”
The Lady Backs broke the game open in the fifth inning, with Blackwell, Wright and Burns scoring runs.
Jordan Standley added a single and RBI in the fifth, while senior Karen Camacho added a single and 2 RBI for the Lady Backs during the rally.
“Karen Camacho did a fantastic job coming in and getting a two-out, two-RBI hit for us,” Tankersley said.
Standley also scored a run before the end of the inning.
Arkansas High’s senior class includes Katelynn Todd, Camacho and Tatiyanna Johnson.
This was the Strike Out Cancer game, and Dr. Julia Gillean of Rockwall, Texas, threw out the first pitch. The Lady Backs also dedicated their season to Gillean.