The Mustangs were ready to play and threw out Robins stealing after she had gotten a scratch hit in the first inning. #4 got an opposite field hit in the first inning to lead off and later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 1-0. Third baseman Ashlynn Gilpatrick caught a line drive from #28 and doubled a runner off third to prevent any further damage.
But then North Harrison erupted in the second as Rainey Fordyce hit a single to center. Kami Gibson hit a pop fly that dropped in shallow left, and Rainey had to scramble to second to beat the force play. But when she got there, the floodgates opened in the inning. Hunter Stevens laid down a bunt down the third base line and beat it out, making it to second as the blue shirts threw it away and two runs came home to score.
Trendi Johnson struck out and Camden Castleberry popped out, but Jayliegh Robins hit a screamer to left. The left fielder tried for a catch and missed, and she made it to third for a triple as Stevens scored. Carly Rinehart singled her home, and then Emma Craig hit a towering shot that landed just short of the wall in left, 277 feet away. She flew around the bases for a home run, leaving North Harrison up 6-1.
Tri-County threatened to score in the second, getting runners on first and second with one out. But North Harrison turned their second double play in as many innings, as Carly Rinehart took #35’s grounder, tagged the runner on first going by, and threw to first for the double play.
North Harrison pitcher Emma Craig began fighting the strike zone in the third, walking the first two batters. Ashlynn Gilpatrick came on in relief and struck the first batter out, but the next one hit a gap double to left center to score two to cut it to 6-3. #28 nearly had extra bases, but her screamer down the left field line was just foul before she popped out to Robins behind the plate.
There was another heartstopping moment when Emma Craig, now at shortstop, and leftfielder Camden Castleberry went in pursuit of a fly ball in shallow left. There was an epic collision between the two, but somehow, Castleberry caught it and hung on. She was bound and determined not to allow a repeat of two nights before, when a similar play saw a ball drop in and squirt away, opened the floodgates for Lathrop.
Camden Castleberry grounded out, but then the floodgates opened as Jayliegh Robins doubled and Carly Rinehart tripled over the left fielder’s head to bring one run across. Emma Craig came up, the Mustangs shaded her to left, and she ripped one to center field for a double – since they were shading her to left, what would have been a routine out turned into a gap double that scored Carly. Ashlynn Gilpatrick singled down the right field line and then it was Kami Gibson’s turn to go deep, crashing one off the left field wall as Kylie Pottorff (running for Gilpatrick) was hanging onto her helmet all the way around the bases as the padding fell out.
In the fifth, Camden Castleberry beat out a slow roller to short and then Jayliegh Robins hit one to the 287 sign in center and flew around the bases. She tried to score to complete the cycle, but was thrown out; the run scored to make it 12-3.
At that point, North Harrison began subbing freely, as there was no JV game. With one out, two Mustangs got on board with singles, but Jayliegh Robins had two great heads-up plays to prevent more damage than there was. First, #12 hit a slow rolled that looked foul, but rolled into fair territory. Robins alertly picked up the carom and tagged her out. #28 beat out third baseman Kenna Slaughter’s throw to first to bring in a run, but then was thrown out stealing by Jayliegh, with freshman shortstop Trendi Johnson landing on the runner to stop her from getting to the bag. It was similar to the play catcher Brandy Rivet made on North Nodaway’s Ashley Thompson two years ago when she tagged her out trying to score.
With two outs, Kiley Pottorff walked and Camden Castleberry was hit by a pitch. Jayliegh Robins, who had hit it opposite field most of the day, hit it down the right field line all the way to the wall. This time, she successfully circled the bases to complete the cycle and get her fifth hit of the night to make it 15-4.
Robins completed her work in the sixth, when one of the Tri-County runners wandered too far off first. North Harrison was planning to do a pickoff play, but the runner took off for second and Robins gunned her down to end the game.
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