Monday night was Eighth Grade Night for the Midway Middle School Lady Waves. For Jaime Kilby, Kaylee Burton, Abby Ward, Kayla West and Ashley Lemons, this Middle School home game would be their last. The opponents were the Rockwood Lady Tigers. Earlier in the season, the Lady Waves had suffered a decisive defeat to Rockwood. However, this time, it was Eighth Grade Night. This time, it was on SOR dirt. The Lady Waves were determined to make this game a memorable one.
The first inning started well for the Midway defense. Second baseman Jaime Kilby was tested early, and she passed with flying colors. The first three batters all hit to Kilby. She fielded all three balls, including a couple of very difficult ones. Kilby made three good throws to first baseman Emily Richardson, which resulted in three outs. In the bottom of the first, Kayla West reached on a walk. No other Midway batters got on base, but West was moved around and eventually stole home, putting the Lady Waves on the board. After the first frame, it was Midway 1, Rockwood 0.
Midway pitcher Raygn Hall started strong in the second inning, striking out the first two Rockwood batters. Hall then fielded the ball and threw to Richardson to record the third out. Whitney Colyer and Richardson both drew walks in the bottom half. Jayde Rose came on as courtesy runner for Colyer, but no Lady Wave runner got past second base in the inning.
The Midway girls kept the game perfect through the third inning. On the first batter, Kilby was at it again. She made another nice grab and threw to first for the out. Hall hurled another strike out, and the third Rockwood batter grounded the ball to Richardson at first for an easy out. In the bottom of the third, West hit a big single to the outfield. She moved over to third base on the next couple of batters, but would be left stranded there to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth, things started looking shaky for the Lady Waves for the first time in the game. Center fielder Kayla West made a nice grab on the lead off batter. However, the next Lady Tiger reached on the first Midway error of the night. The next Rockwood batter hit a triple to tie the score at 1-1. Before Midway recorded the third out, that batter would also reach home plate. The Lady Waves couldn’t get anything going in the bottom of the inning, and Rockwood led, 2-1.
In the fifth inning, the Midway defense started out with another error and put a runner on first. Thankfully, the girls soon settled down. Left fielder Callie Leffew caught a pop up for the first out. Then, third baseman Kaylee Burton earned another Chinese dinner when she grabbed a pop up for the second out and threw to Richardson at first to double up the runner there. That got the Lady Waves to the bottom of the fifth. The Midway offense was back on track in the bottom of the inning. Right fielder Kallie Sohm started out with a strong single. Julie Kilby entered the game and drew a walk. Big sister Jaime followed with another walk to load the bases. Kayla West came up next and hit a sacrifice grounder to score Sohm and tie the game. Raygn Hall then knocked in both of the Kilby sisters. Jaime Kilby showed a lot of speed to score from second on this play. By the end of the fifth, the Lady Waves had reclaimed the lead, 4-2.
In the top of the sixth, Rockwood would strike back in big way. Short stop Abby Ward fielded a grounder and threw to Richardson for the first out of the inning. However, a Midway error and two hits would allow the next three Lady Tiger batters to score. Raygn Hall stepped it up on the next two Rockwood batters, assisting on a put out at first and recording a strike out to get Midway out of the top half. In the bottom of the sixth, Whitney Colyer was hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Jayde Rose replaced Colyer at first and quickly moved around to third. Later in the inning, as Rose attempted to steal home, the Rockwood catcher would be called for obstruction. Rose was safe at home, and the score was tied, 5-5. That’s how the score would remain after six innings.
The excitement was at a peak going into the seventh and final inning. Jaime Kilby continued to have one of her finest defensive performances ever, as she came way over to the right field foul line to make a catch and get the first out of the seventh. The next Rockwood batter reached on a hit and eventually made it all the way to third, adding a little more tension to the Midway bleachers. However, Hall was solid, throwing for two more strike outs to end the threat. In the bottom of the seventh, it was all on the line for the Lady Waves. One run would win the game and secure the victory on Eighth Grade Night. With one out, eighth grader Jaime Kilby reached on a Rockwood error. Next, eighth grader Kayla West singled to left field to move Kilby over to third base. Raygn Hall followed, hitting a ball to the infield. Jaime Kilby raced toward home plate and scored easily. Midway wins the game! Midway wins the game! Final score: Lady Waves 6, Rockwood 5.
It was a glorious night for this year’s eighth graders and for the whole Midway team. In a post game ceremony, each of the eighth graders was presented with a gift bag which included a softball signed by all the team members and the coaching staff, a Midway t-shirt, a gift card, and more.
The ceremony was followed by pizza and all kind of goodies. The coaches awarded Jaime Kilby as the game’s Most Valuable Player. They also named Kaylee Burton as the season’s Most Improved Player.
On Tuesday night, the Lady Waves will travel to Harriman to play the final game of the season. Game time is 6 PM. The post season tournament will start on Saturday at Coafield.