Gallery by Heather Belcher
New Richmond – Sometimes putting the ball in play is enough to win a tight game.
That rang true for Wyoming East, which has won early in the season on the strength of its hitting.
Trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Lady Warriors strung together three consecutive hits and scored the tying and winning runs on errors to defeat Independence 3-2 Wednesday evening in New Richmond.
Controversy ensued late when East made a substitution for Makayla King. Kati Clay, who hit for King in the fifth, was brought back in to hit for her again in the seventh, causing confusion in the Indy dugout.
After a lengthy 10 minute delay in which Indy head coach Ken Adkins conferred with the umpires with a rule book to determine whether or not the substitution was legal, it was ultimately ruled East was in the right, which was the beginning of Indy’s undoing.
After the game Adkins admitted his misunderstanding of the rule, noting that the decision was correct.
“We had chances to take care of business and we did not,” Adkins said. “When you drop fly balls, ya know we should’ve had the double play probably. You just can’t do it against good teams. And I said to our kids when we were up 2-0 ‘This is not where you want to be. You don’t want to be 2-0, not against good teams at their place.’ They find a way and if one bad thing goes against you, you’re in a mess.”
“I’ve done that 100 times,” East head coach Doc Warner said. “Everybody that starts the game can come back in and out one time. I’ve done that for 25 years.”
After the pause, Clay reached on a single up the middle and No. 9 hitter Cameran Tilley, followed with her own single, bringing Olivia Hylton to the plate with one out.
The senior responded with hopper in the hole at short to load the bases, bringing Paige Laxton to the plate.
“We told them we’ve got to get one of (the bottom of the order on) to get Olivia and Paige up to bat,” Warner said.
The team’s top hitter, Laxton followed with a shot to third base that looked like a sure game-ending double play with Alyssa Daniels stepping on third and throwing to first, but the the relay was mishandled, allowing Laxton to reach safely and King to score and knock the contest.
Paige Laxton hits a ground ball that scores the tying run and stays alive when Indy can’t handle the throw to first. pic.twitter.com/9EbqzpK7Vo
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) March 31, 2022
Kayley Bane reached after Laxton when she was hit by a pitch and Savannah Brehm, who hit a fly ball high enough to scrape the moon in the fourth but fell just short of clearing the fence, delivered hitting a fly ball to right that was mishandled, allowing Hylton to cross the plate for the winning run.
“She threw a lot in and out and made you work a lot,” Brehm said. “She threw a lot of rise balls but majority of hers were just the right height for me.”
FINAL
Wyoming East 3, Indy 2 pic.twitter.com/MD91uMDJUc— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) March 31, 2022
The final inning was a stain on what was otherwise a solid outing for Indy pitcher Delaney Buckland who struck out 12 and cruised through the first five innings, diffusing early trouble when Hylton and Laxton both reached in the bottom of the first.
Digging in, the junior hurler retired the next three to strand the East seniors and allowed just two base runners over the next four innings.
Meanwhile she helped her own cause early, reaching on an infield single to to open the game. A pair of passed balls allowed her and Kassidy Bradbury to score later in the opening frame, applying the pressure on East.
“The first inning was horrible,” Warner said. “We couldn’t catch the ball, couldn’t throw the ball, none of it.”
Afterwards the Lady Warriors navigated the waters with ease, allowing just four runners to reach scoring position the rest of the way. But the turning point on offense came in the sixth for East.
Bane laced a one-out double down the left field line and scored with two outs when Andrea Laxton hit a single to bring her in.
Indy threatened to add to its lead in the top of the seventh when Buckland laced a single into the outfield and raced to second after the ball was mishandled, but a strikeout from Hylton, who fanned nine in the circle for East, ended the threat, setting the stage for a dramatic victory.
“It just rubbed off, us on them,” Warner said jokingly of Indy’s late struggles to field the ball after East experienced the same problems.
“Delaney did a great job today and we did a good job up until that point,” Adkins said.
Hylton and Maddie Clark finished with two hits each to lead East while Buckland and Bradbury notched two each for Indy.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
I: 200 000 0 – 2 6 2
WE: 000 001 2 – 3 9 2
Pitching and catching – I; Delaney Buckland and Sarah Bragg; WE: Olivia Hylton and Kayley Bane. WP: Hylton, LP: Buckland.
Hitting – I: Buckland 2-4, Bradbury 2-4, Stanley 1-2, Daniels 1-3; WE: Hylton 2-4, P. Laxton 1-4, Bane 1-3 (2B), A. Laxton 1-3 (RBI), Maddie Clark 2-3, Kati Clay 1-2, Cammie Tilley 1-2.
