Lady Panthers go extra to capture area crown

Posted 5/13/21

Who is next to step up for the Lady Panthers? After the bidistrict win over James Bowie saw Sara Hodges and Kylie Kennedy come forward to make huge contributions, it was Rylee Wilcoxson and Kalli Wright with key base hits to lead Alba-Golden against Martin’s Mill.

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Lady Panthers go extra to capture area crown

Posted

Who is next to step up for the Lady Panthers? After the bidistrict win over James Bowie saw Sara Hodges and Kylie Kennedy come forward to make huge contributions, it was Rylee Wilcoxson and Kalli Wright with key base hits to lead Alba-Golden against Martin’s Mill. The Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Mustangs, 5-4, to take an area championship Friday in Grand Saline.

The Lady Panthers had a few jitters in the early innings. After Abby Hallman opened the game with an infield hit, the Lady Panthers next base hit did not come until the fifth inning. The team wasn’t off; they just were not on point. 

They did take a 1-0 lead in the second, when Martins’ Mill suffered through some pitching inconsistencies. Four walks in the inning gave the Lady Panthers that early edge. 

Martin’s Mill rallied first, putting up four runs in the bottom of the third. The Lady Mustangs stung Alba-Golden starter Skyler West with three extra-base hits, including an inside-the-park home run. That specific hit ricocheted off of rightfielder Wilcoxson and careened deeper into the right field corner.   

West came back strong in the fourth, putting the opposition down in order.

However, it felt like Alba-Golden was in trouble. They faced a 4-1 deficit going into the fifth. They needed base runners, quickly. 

The Lady Panthers turned aggressive. In a game replete with long counts at the plate, the Lady Panthers became first-pitch hitters. Hallman went down on a ground-out to short, but Cacie Lennon and West legged out infield hits on well-placed bunts.  

The team needed a spark. Wright provided. She rattled the fence in left field with a stand-up double. Her hit fundamentally changed the game, as suddenly the Lady Panthers became the aggressors.

In the bottom half of the inning, the turn in play continued. Kayli Covey gunned down a Lady Mustang on a steal attempt – her second of the night. In her best pitching of the night, West set down her opposite number looking. In a curious sequence, the inning ended with a play in which Martin’s Mill was caught off the base while the ball was in the circle. 

The Lady Panthers still trailed by a run going into the sixth. Kennedy stroked a hot liner into centerfield which was misplayed by the Martin’s Mill defense. Kennedy then went from first to third on a great bunt by Hodges. Wilcoxson stepped into the box and calmly sent a clean base hit into right field, scoring Kennedy and tying the game. 

West was clearly tiring but she struck-out the side in the sixth, albeit on 17 pitches. Martin’s Mill put runners on base in the seventh, but West was equal to the challenge and the game went into extra innings. 

Kennedy started the eighth being hit by a pitch. She caught the Mustangs by surprise and stole second base and took third on a Hodges bunt. Up stepped Wilcoxson, who had had a challenging night in the field. She got her redemption by rifling the first pitch into deep left field for the eventual game-winning run. 

The Lady Mustangs put one runner on in the bottom half, but a great catch by Covey from behind the plate, a strike-out and a pop-up to Wright at third started the celebration for Alba-Golden.

Playoff runs are often fueled by a belief in what a team can accomplish. The last two playoff wins have shown the Lady Panthers that they have what it takes, among them, to win.  

A steep challenge in a powerful Union Grove team awaits Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Rains High School in Emory in the regional quarter-finals.