When the 2008 softball schedule was hammered out last fall, Knox Webb was added as a non-district game. The thought behind scheduling the Lady Spartans was that the Lady Green Waves would get to see one of the best fast-pitch teams in Knoxville. Myself, I didn’t expect a close game. It’s not often that a Single A team can travel to one of the private schools and be competive, but that’s just what the Lady Waves did Thursday night. The Green Waves traveled to Knox Webb High School and put the fear of SOR in the Webb Lady Spartans. Even though Midway lost the game 6-5 in extra innings, the Girls from the South showed the Spartans that they were serious about their softball.
The Green opened a little slowly and could manage only one base hit in the first inning. Hannah Colyer singled and was left stranded. The Spartans used their slap hitting, bunting, and their incredible speed to put two runners on base. Then, they stole around the bases and scored to take a first inning lead, 2-0.
The Waves could manage only one hit in the second inning. The red-hot bat of Haley Parks produced a hit, but Parks could not score. In the bottom of the second, Lady Wave pitcher Hannah Colyer showed the Spartan faithful what an All-State pitcher looks like. Colyer struck out three of the four batters she faced and left Webb scoreless in the inning.
The Green got off to a good start in the top of the third, when freshman Taylor Narramore singled to start the inning. Lacey Davidson then singled in Narramore for the RBI. Davidson would eventually score off a single by Kati Alexander to tie the score 2-2. The Lady Waves seemed to be in trouble in the bottom of the third. The Lady Spartans put two runners on base with no outs. However, a heads up play by second baseman Michele Walden quickly turned the situation around. Walden fielded the ball, tagged out the runner headed to second, and completed the double play to Alexander at first base. Alexander ended the inning with another put-out at first, but the Spartans had picked up one run in the inning to take the lead, 3-2.
The Lady Waves threatened in the fourth, but left Parks and Narramore stranded on first and second after both had singled. Knox Webb would again get a single run in the bottom of the inning and held a 4-2 lead at the end of the fourth inning.
Midway surged once again in the fifth frame. Colyer and Alexander both got base hits to lead off the inning. Then, Haley Parks came through in a big way. Parks blasted a huge double. While the Lady Spartans scrambled to field the ball, Colyer and Alexander crossed home plate to tie the game, 4-4. The Webb girls were not shaken easily, though. The Lady Spartans reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning with a lone run, and the game was 5-4, Webb.
In the top of the sixth, Narramore would get things going with a shot to center field that bounced over the fence, giving the freshman a ground rule double. Then, Alex Coffman stepped up to the plate and delivered a big hit to the gap for a stand-up double. Narramore, however, did not score on the play. She was thrown out at home. Davidson made up for the setback, though. She hit one hard up the middle to drive in Coffman and tie the score at 5-5. The bottom of the sixth was spotless for the Waves. The first two Spartan batters popped up for outs and Colyer retired the third with a big strikeout.
Midway struggled at the plate in the top of the seventh, and the score was still tied going into the bottom of the inning. In the field, the Lady Waves held Webb scoreless through two outs. Then, with a fast runner on second, Webb sent a hard shot up the middle and it looked like the Lady Spartans would score to win the game. What the Spartans didn’t count on was the cannon arm of Krystal Rue. The Midway center fielder gunned the runner down and Parks made the tag at home plate for the third out, sending the game into extra innings.
After all the excitement in the bottom of the seventh, Midway just could not get things going in the extra inning. All three Lady Wave batters grounded out. Webb then put a runner on base and stole around to get the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. The final score was 6-5.
The Lady Waves will be looking to start another winning streak when they play their next game. The girls will be at Wartburg on Monday, March 17. Game time is 5:00 PM.