FEISTY LADY HAWKS RALLY TO TAKE OPENER
COMMERCE, Texas— Adversity seems to bring out the best in some people.
After twice watching leads evaporate, Pleasant Grove scratched out a run in the seventh for a 4-3 win over Krum to take Game 1 of the teams’ Region II-4A final series Thursday night at Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Cain Stadium.
Tonight is Pleasant Grove’s graduation. The regional championship series will finish up in Commerce beginning at 2 Saturday afternoon, and should the Lady Cats force a third game it will follow. The series winner plays in 4A state tournament next week.
With the score tied at 3, senior center fielder Aubrey Ashby was hit by a pitch, stole second and came in with the winning run when Khadija Oritola smacked a two-out single to left.
That marked Ashby’s second run of the night, Oritola’s second RBI, and the ninth hit by a team that battled to overcome a determined opponent and a shaky call at home plate.
“We hit the ball well tonight,” PG coach Blake Worley said. “We hit the ball hard, but right at people. We also had clutch hits by numerous people.”
The eighth-ranked Lady Hawks (17-6) got on the board first, putting up a run in the top of the fourth.
Kimmie Atienza led off with a single and promptly stole second. She moved to third on Brette Wacha’s ground-out to the left side and came home when Oritola lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center.
Sixth-ranked Krum (31-5) answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Ashley Landry reached on an infield error. A fielder’s choice and sacrifice put her on third. She scored on Mikayla Woods’ infield single.
PG grabbed the lead again in the top of the sixth. Ashby lead off by beating out a throw from shortstop to first. Atienza laced a single to left and took second as Krum futilely tried to cut down the speedy Ashby, who barrelled into third.
Wacha singled to right-center to bring them both in and make it 3-1. The lead was short-lived. Landry led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single and scored when Tristen Bridges drove a ball into the gap in left, although the Hawks appeared to throw Landry out at the plate.
Landry slid in feet first as Wacha blocked the plate. Seen from above, Landry clearly missed the plate with her left foot. A foot or more of deep blue artificial turf separated the white of her uniform and the gleaming white home plate, but the umpire, still circling behind Wacha, was not in position to see this.
Landry was reaching for the plate with her left hand when Wacha tagged her on the chest
While all this going on, Bridges took second. She later scored on Mikayla Woods ground out to the right side to make it 3-3 after six.
“A lot of teams would have let that get to them; a lot of teams would have folded,” Worley said. “Our girls just kept on playing.”
After PG grabbed the lead in the top of the seventh, the Lady Cats again looked like they would answer.
With one out, Kaely Whatley lined a sharp single to left. Landry followed with a blooper that found a no-woman’s land between the mound and second. Faith Lipham sprinted in from third, scooped up the ball with her bare hand and dove face first into second, tagging the bag with the ball a split second before Whatley arrived.
The next play was a routine ground ball to second, which Alli Holt flipped to Mary Katherine Kyle at first to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the series.