Lady Panthers outslug Pickens in region clash

She was given the nickname “Cadillac” when she was a little girl, but Grayson James showed off the speed of a Corvette this past Thursday night.

Ridgeland’s junior second baseman turned a line drive down the left field line in the bottom of the sixth inning into a two-run, inside-the-park homer and the Lady Panthers would eventually pull out a wild 12-11 win over the visiting Pickens Dragonettes.

The fireworks began early as Pickens (314, 1-5) scored three in the top of the first off Ridgeland starter Kelsey Adams. However, the Black-and-White would answer with six in the home half of the inning, setting the tone for the slugfest.

Pickens would tie things up with another three-spot in the fourth before scoring three more in the fifth to take a 9-6 lead. But Ridgeland would come charging back in the bottom of the sixth, taking an 11-9 lead on James’ legged-out round-tripper.

However, the game was far from over. The Dragonettes would use a two-run, two-out double to tie the game once more before a pick play erased the runner at second to end the inning.

Then in the bottom of the seventh, Katie Carruth got her second hit of the game with a leadoff bunt single and the speedy senior would motor all the way to third when Pickens threw the ball away.

Haley Sandridge, already with three hits and an RBI, was