Varsity Softball: Caroline Cavaliers vs. Chancellor Chargers
By: Greg Wolfe
After losing a heart breaker in an eleven inning affair the night before, the Chancellor Chargers (3-7) showed no lack of heart today as they rallied from down 6 to storm back and take down one of their conference foes the Caroline Cavaliers with a final score of 8 - 7.
In the first inning, it was the Cavaliers who struck first off the Chargers starting pitcher Taylor Sullivan. After the Cavaliers J Copper walked and advanced on an error, she was knocked in by a sacrifice fly from the Cavaliers H Queen who was helping her own cause on the mound. Sullivan, after a shaky start, sat down three batters in a row including a strikeout for an impressive first inning.
The Chargers hit the ball hard in the bottom of that inning, but couldn't find any holes and came up empty. Sam Tillman struck out to start the game, but that would be the last time the Cavaliers would retire her for the rest of the night.
Sullivan was back on the mound for the second, dancing around trouble to keep the score close. The Cavaliers had two runners in scoring position with one out, but Sullivan showed no fear in retiring the next two batters she faced. E Nelson grounded into a fielders choice at the plate, while the following batter popped up to second baseman to end the threat.
In the bottom of the second, Kenzie Coates started her day with a walk followed by a single from Lindsay Pett who would go on to have a nice day at the plate. The Cavaliers Queen would douse the Chargers threat immediately however, as she struck out the next three batters she saw to keep the Chargers scoreless.
In the third and fourth innings, the Cavaliers got the bats moving. Queen continued to have a hot night at the plate with a double that scored one and put Sullivan in a bind. Sullivan would be removed after giving up her second run, replaced by Pett who was coming off a long outing the night before against Spotsylvania. She struggled a bit, allowing 3 runs in her first two innings of work and was forced to work against the entirity of the Cavaliers lineup in the fourth.
After faltering a bit, the Chargers responded in a big way. To start a rally, Pett singled to try and get her team on the board. Tessa Dodson followed with a single which put Pett on third. Rachel Arnold would knock in her first run of the night with a sacrifice ground out, as Pett slid in just under the tag at the plate to break the shutout.
From there on out, Pett was lights out. She didn't falter at all when most others would from a long night before. She battled through soreness and kept the Chargers in it. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the bats came alive and the game was back in reach.
The top of the order was up for the Chargers in the fifth inning, and Tillman led things off with her first triple of the night. The next two batters would get on thanks to singles by Sarah Tiller and Noelle Greenwood. The Cavaliers yanked Queen replacing her with C Martin, but the Chargers didn't slow down. Coates singled and stole second to keep the pressure on. Then Dodson dribbled the ball to the pitcher who booted it, and made it so the Chargers trailed by just a run.
The Cavaliers squeezed across a run in the top of the 7th inning, to try and pad their lead. The Chargers, were still determined. Martin was pulled immediately after giving up a single to Coates, her second hit of the night and third time on base. Queen was brought back in to try and finish what she started.
She would strike out Pett to start things off, but it was not smooth sailing from there on out. Dodson fought hard and walked, Arnold singled collecting her second RBI of the night. With runners on second and third with two outs, down by 1, it was Tillman at the plate. Down to her last strike, she powered through and absolutely slammed a triple to the deep center field fence. It was her second triple of the night, and the biggest as Arnold was able to easily trot in to score walking it off for the Chargers.
This win is a huge morality boost for the team, who has shown to be a comeback team all year. They finally broke through tonight in a big way, picking up a crucial conference win and will travel to their rivals, Courtland Cougars, home turf next Tuesday. This team is picking up speed, and the last three weeks of the regular season should be a fun one!
Stat Section
Chancellor Chargers
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Caroline Cavaliers
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