On Tuesday evening, the Lady Waves hosted the Greenback Lady Cherokees in what was originally scheduled as the second half of an away-and-home series. The game at Greenback on Monday was postponed due to weather, but it was a nice day on The Hill for Tuesday’s contest.
Michele Walden was the starting pitcher, and she started out with a strikeout. After a pop out to shortstop Danielle “Dee” Borum, Walden struck out another Lady Cherokee and it was Midway’s turn to bat. Catcher Alex Coffman started with a walk, and center fielder Krystal Rue reached base on an error. Hannah Colyer, who was playing third base in this game, came to bat and hit a shot to deep left field. The blast scored both Coffman and Rue, and it left Colyer standing on second base. First baseman Kati Alexander followed with another stand-up double for another RBI. Walden then gave the Lady Waves another double and yet another RBI when she hit to left field and scored Alexander. Borum added to the big inning when she hit to center field to bring Walden home. Left fielder Hayley Patterson walked, then Coffman came back with a single to load the bases. Somehow, Greenback got out of the jam to end the inning. By the time it was it over, though, the Lady Waves held a 5-0 lead.
Walden had a strong second inning, striking out the first two Greenback batters. The third out came when Colyer fielded a ball at third and made the throw to first. Kati Alexander got the only Midway hit in the second inning, and the score stood at 5-0 after two frames.
In the third inning, Walden once again started with two strikeouts. She also assisted on the third out, as she fielded the ball and threw to Alexander at first. In the bottom of the third, the Lady Waves were back on track on offense. Right fielder Paige Moree hit a long shot to center field to get on base. With one out, Patterson reached base with her first hit of the game. Then, with two runners on base, Alex Coffman crushed the ball into the wind and over the left field fence for a three-run homer. After that, Rue hit to get back on base. Later, with two outs and one on, Kati Alexander came up and hit to left center field to score Rue. Second baseman Taylor Narramore smoked one over second base and into center field, scoring Alexander. Walden got her first hit of the inning, and Moree got her second. Greenback was finally able to get the third out, but Midway now led 10-0.
Walden started the fourth and final inning with another strikeout. The next batter grounded out to Borum, and the third batter grounded out to Walden. In the bottom of the fourth, Patterson got another hit, then Ashley Alexander was hit by a pitch and walked to first. Hali Morris hit the ball past the Greenback shortstop to score Patterson. Taylr Hall got a two-RBI hit when she knocked the ball over the head of the shortstop. Kayla Roberts walked, Walden hit, and Moree hit to load the bases. Then, Borum cleared the bases with a hit to deep left center, for three RBIs. That made the score 15-0, and the game was called in favor of the Lady Waves.
The Lady Waves cruised through this one, thanks in large part to some big hits by the Midway batters and some nice pitching by Walden. Walden recorded seven strikeouts and gave up only one walk in the shutout. She also went 3-4 at the plate. Coffman was 2-2, including that three-run homer. Kati Alexander went 3-3 with two RBIs. Borum had four RBIs.
On Wednesday, the Lady Waves will host McMinn Central in a rematch of last week’s game. The Midway girls edged out Central 5-4 at their place, and it should be another great game on Wednesday.