vs. Kingston
Monday’s district game at Tellico was postponed due to rain, and it looked like there was a strong possibility the same thing would happen with Tuesday’s big home rematch with the Kingston Lady Jackets. Somehow, the rain held off. As a result, the Lady Waves faced off with Kingston again only four days after last week’s classic Midway victory at Southwest Point.
Another big crowd turned out for this county rivalry, but the temperature was much cooler than last week’s game. The Lady Jackets struck early once again, but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Two Kingston runners crossed home plate before pitcher Michelle Walden threw a strike out to get out of the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning, the first three Lady Wave batters, center fielder Danielle Borum, Walden and left fielder Haley Parks, loaded up the bases. First baseman Alex Richardson is the clean up hitter for Midway, and clean up she did. Richardson smacked a big double to the outfield that scored all three runners. She tried to turn the double into a triple and got caught for an out, but her hit gave the Lady Waves a 3-2 lead after one inning.
After third baseman Hali Morris reached base in the bottom of the second, catcher Winky Stansbury blasted a big double that landed just short of the center field fence. Borum knocked Morris in by grounding out, then Walden pushed Stansbury across the plate with a single. Parks and Richardson both walked to load the bases up again for the Lady Waves. All three were left stranded, but Midway had increased the lead to 5-2.
Two pop outs to short stop Hayley Patterson and a Walden strike out kept the Lady Jackets scoreless in the third. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Morris busted a shot to far right field for a double. She never made it home, though, and the score remained the same.
In the top of the fourth, Kingston made a big push. A Lady Jacket single and a Midway error made the score 5-3. A couple ground outs moved another Kingston runner across the plate, and the Lady Jackets had now pulled within one. The next two Kingston batters hit safely, and it looked like trouble. Thankfully, the Lady Waves recovered. The next batter grounded out, as Morris fielded the ball and threw to first. Richardson hit a solid double in the bottom, but no runs came out of it. 5-4 Lady Waves, and the big Midway crowd is getting nervous.
Patterson’s glove was given more work in the fifth inning. The first two batters hit to her. The first was a pop up that she caught, the second a grounder that she threw to Richardson for another out. After a walk, Walden struck the next batter out to get off the field. In the bottom of the fifth, the Midway bats came alive. After Patterson walked, right fielder Paige Moree slapped to shallow center field to reach base. Morris hit to right field again to load up the bases. The sweet sound of Midway bats solidly connecting with the ball kept ringing out. Stansbury singled to bring two runs in. Borum grounded out to score another one, then Walden and Parks walked to load the bases back up. Halie Wiley came in as courtesy runner for Walden. Richardson hit into a fielder’s choice, and the speedy Wiley was called out by an inch on the force play at home. With two Midway outs, second baseman Taylor Narramore came to the plate and blew the game open. Narramore blasted a 3 RBI double to the outfield. After five innings, the Lady Waves looked solidly in control and led 11-4.
With two Kingston runners on in the sixth, Richardson took over pitching duties and Walden moved to first base. The Lady Jackets ended up scoring two in the inning before Richardson recorded a strike out to get the first out. A Richardson to Walden ground out and a pop out to Patterson put Midway back up to bat. Moree, Morris and Borum all singled in the inning, but no Lady Wave runs were scored. 11-6 Midway.
Three more outs and the Lady Waves would have the season sweep over Kingston for the second consecutive year. Out number one: a ground out from Patterson to Walden. Out number two: a pop fly to Parks in left field. Two outs and no runners on. It’s looking good. Oops! Richardson hits the next batter. No big deal. Oops! A Midway error scores the runner. 11-7 Midway. The crowd is getting a little nervous again. The next batter connects. It’s a pop-up to Narramore… who catches it for the out. No replay of the marathon classic from last Friday. Lady Waves win! 11-7.
The Midway hitting was impressive against a very good Kingston pitcher. Top hitters included Hali Morris (3-3), Alex Richardson (2-3, 3 RBI), Winky Stansbury (2-4, 2 RBI) and Paige Moree (2-4). The Lady Wave defense held up well behind Michelle Walden and Richardson. The explosive Midway offense managed to score 11 runs while leaving many runners stranded.
vs. Harriman
On a very nice Wednesday evening, the Lady Waves got back into district play by hosting the Harriman Lady Devils.
The SOR girls got off to a slow start. Harriman’s pitcher was throwing well. On the defensive side, a couple of Midway fielding miscues and a Harriman home run contributed to a 4-0 Lady Devil lead after three and a half innings.
Thankfully, the Lady Wave offense showed up in the fourth inning. The Midway bats came to life and mercilessly beat the ball time and time again. By the time the shelling was over, the Lady Waves had 16 at-bats with 13 runs scored. The inning was highlighted by right fielder Paige Moree’s long three-run homer to dead center field. It was Moree’s third home run of the season.
The Lady Waves fielded an almost entirely fresh defense in the top of the fifth. The Lady Devils managed to get one more run in the inning. In the bottom of the inning, catcher Winky Stansbury reached base on an error, then center fielder Brianne Reynolds singled. First baseman Taylr Hall grounded out, but brought Stansbury home. Pitcher Alex Richardson blasted the ball hard to left field, and it went underneath the outfield fence. The hit was ruled a ground rule double and scored Reynolds from third. That made the score 15-5. The run rule kicked in, and the game was called in favor of the Lady Waves.
Richardson had an all-around great game. She hit 4-4 at the plate with three RBI. Of the four hits, three were doubles. As pitcher, Richardson threw for 11 strike outs with only four hits and two walks. Moree hit 2-3 with five RBI. Her two hits were a double and a home run. Left fielder Haley Parks hit 1-2 on the day with two RBI.
The Lady Waves are set to play two more important district games this week. On Thursday, the girls in green will travel all the way to Tellico. On Friday, Midway will be back home to host Grace Christian.