Pattonsburg got its second walkoff win in three days Thursday, this time at the expense of East Harrison 4-3. The game started off as a pitching duel between Addie Iddings and Lainey Thompson, with Iddings striking out three Bobcats in the top of the first and Thompson striking out Weigand with the bases loaded in the Pattonsburg first. Neither side could break through in the second either; Sloane McClain singled and stole second, only to be called out when batter Khloe Ponjavic and catcher Isabella Burger got tangled up while McClain was trying to steal third. Pattonsburg continued futilely chasing Thompson's high pitches in the second inning while Addie Iddings got two Bobcats to hit the ball right back to her in the third after a Panther error.
The Panthers finally broke through in the third when Addie Iddings crushed a ball that sliced away from the center fielder for a triple and came home on Isabella Berger's sac fly to make it 1-0. But East Harrison got the run right back in the fourth when Sloane McClain stole third successfully and came home when catcher Isabella Burger threw it away. Shayla Vandiver then beat out a slow roller down the third base line with two outs, Phoenix Ratliff singled her over to third, and Jalyn Cain reached on a dropped fly ball as Vandiver scored to put East Harrison up 2-1.
Pattonsburg got the run back in their half of the fourth when Rosalynn Cameron beat out a slow roller down the third base line with two strikes on her and stole second. Cheyenne Miller struck out on a 3-2 count, but Jayden Goble picked her up with a single that tied the game up at 2-2.
Neither team could break through in the fifth as Jayden Goble fielded a pair of grounders at short for Pattonsburg, and Thompson continued to live off the high heat for the Bobcats. Finally, Sloane McClain came through again for the Bobcats, catching hold of a high pitch and driving it to the center field wall for a double. Khloe Ponjavic walked. Shayla Vandiver popped out, but McClain stole third and Ponjavic stole second for a double steal. Phoenix Ratliff then grounded out to score McClain and the Bobcats were in front 3-2.
There was a heartstopping moment as Jayden Goble fielded Jalyn Cain's grounder cleanly, only to throw it in the dirt. But Kaitlyn Estes, who has carried the Panthers with her bat recently, saved them with her glove as she scooped it out to save her an error and get the final out.
Rosalynn Cameron once again came through with her bat for Pattonsburg as she hit a seeing eye single past second. She took off for second and made it on a close play with a head first slide. Cheyenne Miller crushed a double into the gap in right center, but Cameron held up thinking it would be caught and had to scramble to reach third. It didn't matter as Jayden Goble grounded out to score her to tie it at 3-3 after six.
The Panthers had to retire three of the next four batters to keep Sloane McClain from victimizing them again. Addie Iddings froze Avarie Thompson on a change, and Taylor Whitaker grounded out to Jayden Goble. Lainey Thompson was up next and she crushed a line drive right at Cheyenne Miller at second; she only had time to stick her glove up and knock it down. But she stuck with the play and threw her out at first to set up a walkoff.
Isabelle Burger popped out for the first out, but Kaitlyn Estes, who had carried Pattonsburg with her bat, did so again by crushing a double to right center field. Emsleigh McCrary popped out for the second out, and the specter of Sloane McClain walking up to the plate loomed up strongly. But then Vanessa Weigand, who had struggled all night against Lainey Thompson's high heat, suddenly caught hold of one and hit a carbon copy of Estes' shot and walked it off for the Panthers.
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