Hits were scattered around the game for both Benjamin Russell and Tallassee but it was the Wildcats who pulled out a 7-6 eight inning win Thursday night in Tallassee.
Early on it looked like the Tigers were going to run away with the game leading 4-0 after two frames. They got on the board in the first inning after Regan Easterwood hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run. They extended their early lead with three runs in the bottom of the second thanks to RBI singles by Madison Raney and Cheyann Easterling.
But BRHS chipped away in the third before the flood gates opened briefly in the fourth finishing out the frame up 5-4. Henley Bice, Averee Vick, Cheyenne Fuller and Macie Knox aided in the flurry of runs with singles, walks and hitting into a fielder's choice.
“We didn't start out well,” BRHS coach Jessica Johnson said. “We've done this thing fighting teams for runs, but we didn't quit. The team stayed in it.”
The Tigers came back and knotted the game at 6-6 in the fifth inning but it was BRHS who put the needed run on the board in extra innings.
“We didn't have our best stuff, like on the mound,” Tallassee coach Pat Love said. “We made some errors. We had a couple opportunities on offense that I thought we should have done a little better job on.”
Love gave credit to the Wildcat team on its performance.
“They're a good team,” Love said. “That's the fourth time this year they beat us. We have got to learn to put them away.”
Senior Tiger Alli Smith blocked up the plate and did well swinging the bat. She went 3-for-3 with a double and two singles.
“Alli did good,” Love said. “She was a smart player for us today. She played good behind the plate and she had a couple good hits. We just didn't get the timely hit to put us ahead.”
Easterling went 2-for-3 to join Smith in swinging the bat well against Ben Russell. Easterling also had two stolen bases.
The Wildcats scattered 10 hits on the Tigers with Aubrey Chapman going 3-for-3. Arionna Ware, Fuller and Kyleigh Leonard had stolen bases against Tallassee.
Next up Tallasse goes to PCA Tuesday and Ben Russell heads to Chilton County. .