Gallery by Tina Laney
Shady Spring softball head coach Nikki Mays predicted beating Independence for a third time this season was going to be a tough battle.
She was also convinced her team was up to the challenge.
Mays was correct on both counts.
Tuesday night in the game that mattered the most so far between the two county rivals, the Tigers topped the Patriots 12-11 in a heavyweight, Class AA Region 3, Section 2 throwdown.
“I knew today was going to be tough and Independence did exactly what I knew they were going to do,” Mays said. “They are a good team and they are not backing down easy. It was who wanted it more in the end.”
For the second straight night, Shady Spring grabbed the bull by the horns and took the fight to the opposing team in its first trip to the plate.
Avary Bragg singled home Kaylee Waddell for the initial run of the game before Bella Strurgill blasted a two-run shot over the left-center field fence for a 3-0 lead.
“This whole year has been like a curse for us getting down in the first or second inning,” Independence head coach Ken Adkins said.
Although the Patriots were down, they were far from out.
Paytin Brehm put Indy in the scoring column with a single to score Kassidy Bradbury.
A sacrifice fly by Savannah Stanley pulled the visitors within one run of the lead before an error by the Tigers, which would have been the third out of the inning, cracked the door open for Independence.
Run-scoring singles from Alli Hypes and Emma Lilly were part of a seven-run outburst that gave the Patriots a four-run lead.
Undaunted by the Indy explosion, Shady Spring evened the game in the bottom of the inning with Joyce and Bragg both driving in a run.
“We come back and get up 7-3, but we cannot get out of our own way. We stand up running into the second base bag (and get tagged out). We boot or throw away, I don’t know how many balls,” Adkins said. “Then we had a team falling apart in the middle of the game. With all that said, we still come back and have a chance to win the game at then end. Then we boot another ball and lose the game.”
Mays talked about the importance of her team responding quickly to tie the contest and regain the momentum.
“It is huge for us just to have the confidence in ourselves that they can come back like they did,” Mays said. “They had confidence in each other and in themselves. That is something that we have worked on all year. They have given each other the reason to be confident in each other. It takes us all.
Two innings later it was Joyce and Bragg once again igniting a fire for Shady.
Back-to-back singles by the hard-hitting duo with one out set the table. Two errors by the Patriots kept the inning rolling prior to a sharp single from Brooklynn Blankenship which scored two runs giving the Tigers a 10-7 lead.
A solo blast from Joyce in the fifth inning made it a four-run game, but Independence came roaring back to tie the game in the sixth.
Emma Lilly knocked in the first run before the Patriots worked the bases loaded. A wild pitch and a Shady Spring error allowed three runs to score, knotting the game at 11-11.
The game winner came with two outs in the home half of the sixth.
Raegan Lane hammered a shot off the right-field fence for a double and scored when a ground ball from Waddell was misplayed for the fourth Indy error of the night.
After recording the win in the circle last night against Liberty, Lane came on in the third inning to pick up her second sectional win Tuesday. Lane allowed just two earned runs and struck-out seven.
“In my opinion, I do a lot better starting than finishing, so when I came in today, I was just hoping to pitch as well as I did last night,” Lane said.
Mays also admitted Lane worked better out of the starting role, but was happy with how she responded in the role reversal.
“She definitely came in strong for us and kept her composure when it got rough,” Mays said. “You really can’t tell if she gets shook or not. She pitched in the same scenario last game against Independence when Avary started and she came in to finish.”
Shady Spring advances to the championship of the double-elimination tournament, while the Patriots will need to beat Nicholas County to get another game against the Tigers.
“We have to put this game behind us. If we carry it forward, Nicholas County will beat you and then you are really done,” Adkins said. “We have to come out tomorrow and play like we can play.”
Should the two rivals meet again, both sides are convinced they can win.
“We won the regional deal last year after we lost the first game and won the next two,” Adkins said. “In 2019 we lost to Wyoming East and came back and won two games. It can be done. We have plenty in the tank. It is not like we are using it up.”
“I still think we are better than them,” Adkins continued. “We cannot throw the ball down the middle. They’re good hitters, Joyce, Bragg and Sturgill will make you pay when you miss. They are good enough to do that. We can hit anybody that they have. We scored 11 runs. When you score 11 runs in high school softball, you should win.”
Mays knows if it does come to another battle with the Patriots, it will take another strong effort from her team to win the sectional title.
“Moving to the championship round is what we want, but it also means we have to work harder,” Mays said. “They are going to go after it as hard as we are. It is easy for us to lay down and think we have it, but they will be coming back after us.”