PHEBA — Making adjustments sounds simple.
But it”s easy to lose sight of the little things when the adrenaline is flowing and the pitcher is rushing the ball to the plate.
Three times Katlyn Petty tried to get a hit against Chloe Tapley. Three times she struck out.
Her fourh at-bat was different in a big way.
Petty”s two-run bloop single down the right-field line in the eighth inning was just what the Heritage Academy fast-pitch softball team needed to beat Hebron Christian 4-2 on Thursday night.
“I was really scared,” Petty said. “I didn”t think I could do it. I was so nervous. I don”t know how I did it.”
Petty”s hit eluded the reach of first baseman Tori Nichols and bounced away, giving Allie Lowe the run support she needed to lift Heritage Academy to 1-3.
Petty may not have realized how she worked her extra-inning magic, but it looked like she followed a strategy Heritage Academy coach Bud Lowe had been preaching since early in the game: Shorten up. Tapley, a junior right-hander, struck out seven in the first four innings before the Lady Patriots began to put the ball in play.
While Petty”s single wasn”t the hardest hit ball of the evening, it was the best example of someone doing what they could do in a clutch situation.
“I just tried my best,” Petty said. “I felt I had good contact on it, but I thought she was going to catch it. I am so glad she didn”t.”
Lowe said Tuesday following a 4-3 loss to The Veritas School he felt his team was making better contact at the plate. Rachel Stukenborg had the first hit for Heritage Academy in the fifth. Even though the Lady Patriots managed just three hits, they had many more quality at-bats as the game progressed, which put more pressure on the defense and Tapley.
“We just stressed shortening the swings,” coach Lowe said. “With a pitcher like Chloe, you can”t take these big, long swings. You have to shorten them up. That”s what got us the victory.”
Allie Lowe walked five and struck out nine to get the victory. She walked. She walked leadoff hitter Alaina Hill in the bottom of the first, and Hill scored on an infield error to give the Lady Eagles (3-2) a 1-0 lead. Tapley doubled home Rebecca Faulkner, who also walked, in the third to make it 2-0. But Lowe set down nine in a row after the fourth to help push the game into extra innings, where both teams benefited from having a runner put on second base to start the inning.
“She gets stronger as the game goes on,” coach Lowe said. “She does it pretty much every game., especially when it is a close game. She is still learning how to pitch, so it takes a little bit sometimes, but I was very proud of her. We shortened it up and did what we had to do.”
Heritage Academy capitalized on a throwing error by Tapley to tie the game at 2 in the sixth. It then benefited from a wild pitch that moved Shiloh Ellis from second to third to help build the winning rally.
Tapley had the other hit — a single — in the eighth as the Lady Eagles put runners on second and third with no outs. But Lowe retired Nichols on a bloop behind first base. The play, which looked very much like the one in which the ball eluded Nichols, appeared to come out of Petty”s glove, but the umpires ruled it was a catch. Lowe struck out the next batter and then forced a pop up to Petty to end the game.
Hebron Christian coach Cass Tapley said his team looked nothing like the one that won three of four games last weekend at the Magnolia Heights tournament. He credited Bud Lowe for working to make Heritage Academy even more competitive.
“We have to get better in every way,” Tapley said. “Our pitching wasn”t crisp. Chloe”s speed and location weren”t there, and, to their credit, Heritage put the bat on the ball. Our hitting was terrible. Allie was good, but we should have at least been able to put the bat on the ball instead of swinging at air all day. A couple plays in the field really cost us and we aren”t swinging the bat well enough to overcome errors with runners on base. The pitching we will get corrected, and I hope our hitting will come around. The older players have to take charge.”
n Starkville Academy 10, Pillow Academy 6: At Starkville, April Burney had three hits, and Lauren Ware and Mary Austin Barber each had two apiece to lead the Lady Volunteers (3-3).
Emily Gregory and Barber had RBI singles in the third inning. Nikki Ford and Megan Aucoin had run-scoring hits in the fourth.
Julianne Jackson earned the victory.
Starkville Academy, Central Academy, Oak Hill Academy, and Heritage Academy will play Saturday in the Starkville Academy tournament. Oak Hill Academy plays Central Academy at 9 a.m. It will play East Rankin at 11:50 a.m. if its wins. If it loses, it will play the loser of the game between Heritage Academy and Winston Academy at 10:25 a.m.
For more on the schedule for the tournament, see The Dispatch”s Saturday edition.
n Winston Academy 3, Oak Hill Academy 2: At Louisville, The Lady Patriots scored all of their runs in the bottom of the first inning, including two that were unearned, to defeat the Lady Raiders (3-1) in the conference opener.
Hunter Coleman singled to center field in the fourth, but the tying run was thrown out at home on a bang-bang play. Oak Hill Academy also stranded the potential tying run at third base in the seventh.
Mamie Allen (2-1) took the loss. She allowed two hits, walked four, and struck out four.
Anna Lummus and Kim Kelly had a single and an RBI.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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