Dublin – Head Coach Rick Nester was facing a bases loaded situation in a back and forth game so the veteran Skipper pointed at Bayleigh Allen to pinch hit. Allen fouled off a number of pitches in the top of the fifth inning before depositing one over the fence to take a 4-3 lead and turn it to 8-3. Carroll County (2-0) made the grand slam hold up, picking up an 11-9 victory over the Cougars.
” Bayleigh wasn’t the only one who battled in the count tonight,” said Nester. ” We were able to do that up and down the lineup all game. It led to eight walks and twelve base hits with many of them coming after we had two strikes.”
Holly Miller came within inches of clearing the outfield wall earlier in the game and Laiken Burnett did in the top of the sixth, adding a two run shot to make it 10-4 in favor of the Lady Cavaliers. The team would end up needing the insurance as the hard hitting Cougars tried to claw back until the 21st and final out was recorded.
Emma Harman started in the pitching circle and earned her second victory on the season. Harman faced one batter in the bottom of the sixth inning before giving way to Addie Greene. Greene went on to warn a save for her efforts and Nester was pleased with both of his pitchers at games end.
” Both of them did a great job with their control tonight,” added Nester. ” They limited the walks, making Pulaski County put the ball in play is a key to beating them.”
The Cavalier outfield is full of returning players from last year and Natalie Burress is in her second season behind the plate so the challenge for Nester is to find a combination of infielders. The process gets complicated even more, depending upon which hurler is in the circle.
The great news is that the offense has scored 35 runs in just 14 innings so far this week. Averaging 2.5 runs 🏃♂️ per three outs is a great problem to have while everyone gets comfortable with their new roles.
Raylee Goins led the offense by going three of four at the plate but the Freshman had plenty of company. Burnett collected a second base hit to go with her long ball and seven other Lady Cavaliers each finished with one base hit.
Burress added three walks to her hit and Miller added two as well as the team cleared twenty base runners for the second straight contest.
” We fell behind immediately after they had a leadoff home run to start the game and then they added another one in the next inning,” noted Nester. ” I quickly reminded them that we had 15 outs remaining and they went out and battled all night. “
Carroll County and Pulaski County met four times on the Diamond 💎 Friday night and the schools split 2-2. The Junior Varsity Baseball team recorded a second straight shut out, 3-0.
Pulaski County won the Varsity Baseball game in walkoff fashion, 10-9 and the Cougars prevailed in Junior Varsity Softball.
Carroll County Softball returns to action 🎬 Monday night when the Varsity team heads over to Magna Vista and the Junior Varsity hosts.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 