Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Junior High Girls Fall Short to King City in Extra Innings

Worth County's Junior High girls have been playing much better than their record. However, pitted against tough opposition all year, they have dropped a lot of close games this year, including a 10-6 loss to King City in extra innings. Time for the game expired in the 5th inning; however, the teams needed two extra innings to complete the game.

Worth County fell into an early 3-0 hole to King City. The first meeting between the two teams had been a 3-0 pitching duel won by the Wildkats. However, this game was much higher scoring as the hitting for both teams had improved since the first meeting. Worth County got one run back off an illegal pitch when King City's pitcher started and stopped her motion. It is the equivalent of a balk in baseball; Grace McElvain came across the plate to score.

Grace McElvain caught two fly balls in right field and catcher Haley Hunt picked two runners off third and caught two pop flies. Emily Thomas added a catch at third.

Mollie Blaine singled and later scored on Grace Schottel's single to make it 3-2. But it all seemed for naught when King City scored two in the fifth to make it 5-2.

But Grace McElvain grounded out to second and both Haley Hunt and Grace Schottel scored on the play to make it 5-4 as King City tried to trade a run for an out and wound up giving up two. Emily Thomas grounded out, but Jessi Badell singled and stole second to restart Worth County's inning and Kennedy Galanakis reached on an error by the pitcher as Jessi scored to tie it at 5.

Worth County loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth but could not score thanks to a called third strike and a popup to end the inning. All hell broke loose in the 7th as King City timed and crushed the ball on their way to five runs in the frame. It would have been worse had it not been for Haley Hunt's pickoff of a King City runner. Worth County got one back when Kennedy Galanakis bunted out to the catcher to score Jessi Badell.

"I'm proud of how you battled back when nobody expected us to do so," said Coach April Healy to her players after the game.

The B team lost 6-3 in the nightcap in two innings. Darbi Weddle caught a fly ball in right. Sadie Dye scored two runs for the reserves, both on dropped third strikes that were thrown away. Ashlyn Barnett reached on an infield single to drive in the other run.

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