ZeeAnna Gladstone sparked a late inning rally by the Tigers against King City in the first round of the Albany Tournament Saturday, and Ali Brown’s walkoff homer won it as the Tigers took a 12-11 win for their first game of the season.
It looked like the Tigers were dead in the water after King City had erupted for two in the fifth and seven in the sixth to take an 11-8 lead. Time was called, so it was either win or go home for the Tigers. King City was a dangerous team who had several late inning eruptions at the plate over the last two years, and this game was par for the course for them. And King City seemingly had Worth County’s number, having beaten them twice last year.
But then ZeeAnna Gladstone, who had misplayed a single during King City’s rally, stepped up to the plate to lead off the Tiger sixth and crushed a double to left field. She then pulled off a play worthy of her namesake as she saw a pitch in the dirt, took off for third, and made it on a close play. All of a sudden, a dormant Tiger squad came to life and started hitting the ball again.
Autumn Cousatte hit a single down the left field line to score Gladstone, and then Brooklyn Richardson laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line and beat it out to put runners on first and second. Kynah Steele hit it hard, but right at the left fielder for the first, and Ali Brown hit what looked like a carbon copy. But this time, the ball kept carrying and finally drifted over the fence, and the Tigers had walked it off against a team that had beaten them twice last year.
It started off so well for the Tigers in the early innings. Autumn Cousatte fell behind 0-2 in the first, but showed she is a difficult batter to strike out and fought back to walk. Then, Brooklyn Richardson and Kynah Steele beat out perfect bunt hits to load the bases. Ali Brown struck out and Kara Staton popped out, but Hailey Adwell beat out an infield hit to the shortstop and two runs scored to make it 2-0.
The Tigers added to their lead when Brylee Rush singled and ZeeAnna Gladstone got hit. Autumn Cousatte singled to left center and took second on a throw home as Gladstone took third. The Tigers then twice scored on strikeouts as Brooklyn Richardson and Kynah Steele struck out on consecutive plays, the third strike was dropped, and Gladstone and Cousatte each came home on the throw to make it 5-0.
Taryn Hunter’s triple put King City on the board and she scored on a wild pickoff to make it 5-2, but Worth County got the runs back as Brylee Rush singled. ZeeAnna Gladstone popped out and Autumn Cousatte hit a screamer, but right at the shortstop. But Brooklyn Richardson kept the inning alive with a double to center that scored Rush and Kynah Steele’s home run was well beyond the center field wall at around 250 feet to make it 8-2.
Worth County was seemingly in control, but King City began to play stronger and stronger as the game progressed. When Kinzie Pettijohn’s shot off pitcher Brooklyn Richardson’s glove with two outs and nobody on in the fifth rolled into no man’s land, that opened the floodgates. Gabrielle Schnitker and Taryn Hunter walked, Pettijohn came home on a wild pitch as Schnitker and Hunter took second and third, and Kaylee Roberts’ bunt with two outs fooled everyone. Richardson dove for it and missed and the ball rolled into no man’s land as another run scored to make it 8-4 after five. Then, all hell broke loose as King City teed off in the sixth and erased the Tiger lead. When Emberlyn Medsker hit a 3 run home run to make it 11-8, the game was all but over before ZeeAnna Gladstone worked her magic to revive the Tigers’ hopes.
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