Lady Tigers' rally comes up short
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — A couple early innings where the McClain Lady Tigers gave the visiting London Red Raiders extra opportunities, but those opportunities haunted the Lady Tigers for the remainder of the contest as they lost by a score of 11-8, Wednesday.
The loss at Darrell Unger Field at Mitchell Park was a missed opportunity in the South Central Ohio League standings for the Lady Tigers, the two-time defending champions, as they fall to a league mark of 1-3, with an overall record of 3-4 seven games into the season.
Being a missed opportunity wasn't lost on head coach Jarrod Haines, as the Lady Tigers allowed five runs to cross the plate with two outs in the second inning, forcing the Lady Tigers to play catch-up for the entire game, as they trailed 2-1 after one inning and 7-1 after two innings.
"We beat ourselves (Wednesday)," Haines said. "We made too many mistakes, and our comeback was too late.
"We must fix these mistakes … it's frustrating to see the mistakes, and again, we just beat ourselves."
Following the seven runs by London (2-2, 5-3) in the first two innings, the visitors added one more run in the third for a seven-run advantage entering the bottom of the inning.
For the first run by MHS in the first, it came with Alli Willett (two walks) scoring on an RBI by Shania Massie (4-for-5), as the sophomore doubled in Willett, who walked to lead off the first. In the third, Willett scored her second run, this time taking second on a sacrifice bunt by Cierra Landrum (2-for-3, two walks), to third on a ground ball and scoring on an error.[[In-content Ad]]
The best inning for the Lady Tigers was the fifth, entering the inning trailing 11-2, as LHS scored three runs in their half of the fifth.
Sydney Barton (1-for-3) opened the fifth for McClain with a single, and with one out, Landrum equaled the feat with a base hit. On a 0-1 count, it was the bat of Massie who brought the Lady Tigers a little closer as she hammered the ball over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run, cutting the LHS lead to 11-5.
MHS scored three more runs in the game with two in the sixth and one in the seventh.
In the sixth, Caitlyn Lovett (2-for-3, one RBI) walked and scored a run, while Katy Unger added another run as she reached base on a fielder's choice. Knocking in the runs were Landrum and Massie as they totaled six RBIs for the game.
In the seventh, Morgan Dettwiller doubled and scored on an RBI base hit from Lovett.
MHS totaled nine hits and three walks.
The pitching loss went to Landrum. She pitched all seven innings, allowing 11 runs, with just two being earned for the game, as MHS committed five errors. Landrum allowed 10 hits and walked none with three strikeouts.
"Again, it's frustrating," Haines said. "We have a ground ball pitcher, and we don't know what to do with the ball once we get it. We made mental mistakes.
"We are going to keep pushing them until we get to where we need to be."
MHS will play again on Thursday as they travel to VA Memorial Stadium to face North Adams in non-league play at 5 p.m.
The loss at Darrell Unger Field at Mitchell Park was a missed opportunity in the South Central Ohio League standings for the Lady Tigers, the two-time defending champions, as they fall to a league mark of 1-3, with an overall record of 3-4 seven games into the season.
Being a missed opportunity wasn't lost on head coach Jarrod Haines, as the Lady Tigers allowed five runs to cross the plate with two outs in the second inning, forcing the Lady Tigers to play catch-up for the entire game, as they trailed 2-1 after one inning and 7-1 after two innings.
"We beat ourselves (Wednesday)," Haines said. "We made too many mistakes, and our comeback was too late.
"We must fix these mistakes … it's frustrating to see the mistakes, and again, we just beat ourselves."
Following the seven runs by London (2-2, 5-3) in the first two innings, the visitors added one more run in the third for a seven-run advantage entering the bottom of the inning.
For the first run by MHS in the first, it came with Alli Willett (two walks) scoring on an RBI by Shania Massie (4-for-5), as the sophomore doubled in Willett, who walked to lead off the first. In the third, Willett scored her second run, this time taking second on a sacrifice bunt by Cierra Landrum (2-for-3, two walks), to third on a ground ball and scoring on an error.[[In-content Ad]]
The best inning for the Lady Tigers was the fifth, entering the inning trailing 11-2, as LHS scored three runs in their half of the fifth.
Sydney Barton (1-for-3) opened the fifth for McClain with a single, and with one out, Landrum equaled the feat with a base hit. On a 0-1 count, it was the bat of Massie who brought the Lady Tigers a little closer as she hammered the ball over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run, cutting the LHS lead to 11-5.
MHS scored three more runs in the game with two in the sixth and one in the seventh.
In the sixth, Caitlyn Lovett (2-for-3, one RBI) walked and scored a run, while Katy Unger added another run as she reached base on a fielder's choice. Knocking in the runs were Landrum and Massie as they totaled six RBIs for the game.
In the seventh, Morgan Dettwiller doubled and scored on an RBI base hit from Lovett.
MHS totaled nine hits and three walks.
The pitching loss went to Landrum. She pitched all seven innings, allowing 11 runs, with just two being earned for the game, as MHS committed five errors. Landrum allowed 10 hits and walked none with three strikeouts.
"Again, it's frustrating," Haines said. "We have a ground ball pitcher, and we don't know what to do with the ball once we get it. We made mental mistakes.
"We are going to keep pushing them until we get to where we need to be."
MHS will play again on Thursday as they travel to VA Memorial Stadium to face North Adams in non-league play at 5 p.m.