Lady Jags Softball holds off Fayette, 7-5
The Lady Jags softball team had to sweat it out on Tuesday night at Fayette. Northridge held a 7-2 lead going into the home half of the seventh inning and had to fight off a feisty Lady Tigers team that scored three runs to make it a 7-5 final.
Northridge got things started off on the right foot in the top of the first inning. Anna Grace Reed led off the inning by getting hit by the second pitch of the game. After the first out was recorded, Reed stole second and was promptly driven in to score by Mary Hayes Henderson’s double to left. Elliott Williams followed with a single to center and advanced to second on the throw, with Mary Hayes Henderson reaching third. Next up, Anna Cate Henderson reached on an error, then made it all the way to third. Mary Hayes Henderson and Williams scored on the play. Shelby Savage followed with a sacrifice that plated Anna Cate Henderson, who would be the last Lady Jag to score in the top of the first. The Lady Jags held Fayette off the board in the bottom of the inning to hold a 4-0 lead after one complete inning.
After the first two Lady Jags batters went down in the top of the second inning, Reed picked up a walk on four pitches and promptly stole second. Madelyn Abston reached on a grounder to third and eventually ended up at third. Reed scored the Lady Jags only run of the inning on the play. The Lady Tigers got on the board with a single run in their half of the inning, resulting in a 5-1 advantage for Northridge.
The scoreboard was quiet in the third inning for both teams. In the fourth, the Lady Jags didn’t get on the board, but Fayette managed one run, to bring the score to 5-2 at the conclusion of four innings.
The Lady Jags picked up their sixth run in the top of the fifth, when Savaged walked with loaded bases and Mary Hayes Henderson crossed the plate. The Lady Jags had a bit of a hard time wrangling the ball in the bottom of the fifth, but settled down and ended the threat with a putout of a Tiger runner attempting to reach second base.
Reed led off the top of the seventh inning with a single and promptly stole second base. Reed wasn’t satisfied with one base and went around to third on a sacrifice by Abston. Subsequently, Mary Hayes Henderson grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Reed to score Northridge’s last run of the game. Fayette was unable to put together a scoring effort in the bottom half of the inning and the Lady Jags led 7-2 after six.
After Avery Vick singled to lead off the seventh inning, the Lady Jags bats went cold and they failed to score. The Lady Tigers found some hot bats in the bottom of the inning after the first batter was retired. Fayette strung together a couple hits and some good base running to score three quick runs, the final one coming at the expense of their second out of the inning. The next batter hit a grounder to Savage who tossed to Carson Kirkland at first, to end the threat and the game for a 7-5 Lady Jags win.
Williams led the Lady Jags with two hits. Reed, the Henderson sisters, and Vick collected one hit each. Reed scored three times and Mary Hayes Henderson scored twice for Northridge. Williams and Anna Cate Henderson scored once each. Mary Hayes Henderson, Anna Cate Henderson and Savage had two RBIs each for the Lady Jags.
Anna Cate Henderson completed five innings in the circle, with Mary Hayes Henderson completing one full inning. Davis tossed one inning in relief.