Lady Tigers stay undefeated in SCOL

GREENFIELD — Things started off rocky for the McClain Lady Tigers Friday as the visiting Lady Falcons from Clinton-Massie came to town, but like they have all season in the South Central Ohio League, the Lady Tigers regrouped and soundly defeated the Lady Falcons, 10-3.

McClain, the reigning back-to-back SCOL champions, committed five errors and trailed 3-1 until the bottom of the third, with Clinton-Massie scoring two runs in the first inning.

The Lady Tigers (11-0,18-3) responded in the bottom half of the first as Cierra Landrum scored on a Shania Massie double, but Massie was stranded on the bases.

CM added another run in the top of the third inning.

Following the third run by CM, the Lady Tigers did what they have done all year long in league play … win the game.

McClain responded in their half of the third, starting with Massie, a freshman, hammering her seventh home run of the year over the centerfield fence.

One batter later, senior Jenna Perie reached on a single, and she was driven in by senior Kate Crabtree for a 3-3 score.

The score would remain tied until the fourth inning when MHS added another run, as Sasha Lawwell scored on an Alli Willett double.

The Lady Tigers' bats came alive for good as Perie led off the the bottom of the fifth with a double, followed by a Morgan Dettwiller single. Crabtree knocked Perie in with a single, and Emily Sterling hit a two-RBI double, with the four-run inning putting MHS ahead 7-3.

McClain added three more runs in the sixth, starting with Cierra Landrum slapping a bunt single, followed by a base hit by Massie. Landrum scored on a CM error off the bat of Dettwiller.

Crabtree drove in her third run of the game when she laced a single, scoring Massie. Dettwiller scored on a single by Sterling.

"I am very pleased with the way Shania hit the ball," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "The home run was crushed, but we had other girls show toughness at the plate.

"Kate (Crabtree) has been struggling, but she had three hits and drove in three runs, so that was great to see. Emily (Sterling) had two huge hits after striking out her first two at-bats, so I was pleased to see her respond the way she did."

Leading hitters for the Lady Tigers were Massie and Crabtree with three hits, while Landrum, Perie and Sterling each finished with two hits. Willett, Lawwell and Dettwiller each tallied one hit.

Landrum was credited with the win in the circle as she went all seven innings. She allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

"Cierra threw a lot of pitches, as she struggled getting ahead in the count," Haines said. "That allowed Clinton-Massie to jump on ahead early, but we made some miscues … and that didn't help. She settled in the last four innings and showed her toughness."

Haines spoke about one improvement his team needs to make as the regular season nears to an end.

"Defensively, we can't allow teams extra chances, especially going into the tournament," he said, "We have to clean that up."

MHS will go for the perfect SCOL mark on Monday, as they finish the regular-season league games when they host Miami Trace at 5 p.m.