GRAY — After Monday night’s thrilling win in extra innings over Science Hill, Dobyns-Bennett’s softball team could have been in for a letdown spot against Daniel Boone on Tuesday.
Instead, they pulled out a road win to advance out of the winners’ bracket.
D-B downed the top-seeded Lady Trailblazers by a final of 3-1.
“This place is a hard place to play at,” Dobyns-Bennett head coach Andy Hubbard said. “Especially against them. Julianne (Tipton) pitched great and we played good defense.”
Tipton was a motivated starter for the Lady Indians. She retired the first six batters she faced of the game, and threw a complete game. The right-hander struck out 10 and scattered around seven hits to earn the win.
After the win, Tipton was eager to heap praise to the Lady Blazer lineup.
“Since I have been here, (Boone) has been one of the worst lineups,” Tipton said. “It’s horrible as a pitcher because every kid can hit, and almost every kid can hit a home run.”
Daniel Boone worked out of a jam to keep the game scoreless in the third. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Ava Saul struck out the next two batters to escape unharmed.
The Lady Blazers attempted the same strategy in the next frame, however the Lady Indians did not leave the fourth empty-handed. Riley McMillan singled to plate one before Allie McConelee scored a pair on a single to left.
McMillan said that there was some relief that came in being able to come up in that spot for the Tribe.
“That’s happened to me a couple of times this season,” McMillan said. “It hasn’t ended how I wanted it to before. So to have gotten that single back up the middle and drive in the run to start the scoring is probably one of the best things to happen to me this season.”
Throughout the game, Boone struggled to mount any sort of rally against the Arizona State-signee. Their lone run scored came in the sixth, when Ava Saul drove home Josie Jenkins, but got thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double.
Daniel Boone did bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh inning with one out. However, Tipton was able to induce a popup and a strikeout to end the threat and give the Lady Indians the win.
Tipton was not afraid to display her emotions throughout the contest, pumping her fist after strikeouts and pointing to her defense after plays. She said that she would not do it any other way.
“People say that it is cocky,” Tipton said. “But it’s fun, why are we not (celebrating)? Why would I not be excited to get a strikeout call on a pitch that I have struggled to throw the past three weeks…That’s huge for me, that’s huge for my confidence. Why would I not let that show?”
Dobyns-Bennett will now play on Thursday night in the District 1-4A Final, and would have to lose twice to finish runner-up. They also move on to the Region 1-4A Tournament next week.
Science Hill 2, West Ridge 0
Pitching and defense played massive for the Lady Hilltoppers as they kept their season alive in Tuesday’s District 1-4A elimination game.
The Lady Topper bats struck early for one run in the first and one in the second. Lora Wilgus drove home the game’s first run on a groundout to first, while Malia Maroukas came home on a wild pitch in the second.
Science Hill starting pitcher Isabel Meeks took advantage of the early run support, as she retired nine of the first 10 hitters she faced, and did not allow a hit until the fourth. Overall, she went the distance and allowed just five hits while recording five strikeouts.
“She wants the ball,” Science Hill head coach Megan Harmon said. “And right now, she is pitching really well. And we are very proud of her. And you know what? We are going to ride her as long as we can right here.”
When West Ridge got its first hit of the game, it mounted a rally against Meeks. The Lady Wolves got back-to-back singles from Kami Clark and Lily Frazier. However, Meeks worked out of trouble with a double play and a strikeout.
Science Hill had an opportunity to add on some insurance in the sixth. They put two runners on board with one out, but West Ridge’s Miranda Henley got out of the frame unscathed after a pop out and a strikeout.
That nearly came back to bite them in the top of the seventh. Lacey Fugate drove in the first run of the game for the Lady Wolves on an RBI single. With the tying run on base with one out, Meeks was able to get a strikeout after a pinch-runner was caught stealing to end the game.
The Lady Toppers will be back in action on Wednesday night against Daniel Boone in order to advance to the Region 1-4A Tournament. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.