Lady Tigers walk off with win
Demopolis (6-5-1) won in walk-off fashion Thursday night as Courtney Lawrence dropped down a bunt to plate Alexis Jones and beat Hale County 8-7 in nine innings.
Lawrence’s perfectly-placed bunt scooted by the Hale County pitcher untouched as she legged her way to first to complete the infield single, allowing Jones to touch home with the winning run.
“That is a team effort. That is a team win,” Browder told his team following the game. “That is everybody contributing. Remember that feeling.”
Lawrence’s RBI bunt punctuated a four-run Lady Tiger rally in the home half of the ninth and came three batters after Jones stroked a two-run triple over the right fielder’s head to tie the game.
Jones’ hit allowed Danielle Tatum and Sydney Colyar to score. Both players reached on an error. Colyar started the scoring with a fly ball to right that sent Victoria Washburn home. Washburn began the frame on second base as the ninth was played under international tiebreaker rules.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to stress all season,” Browder said. “We focused and we finished. Now we’ve got to be mature enough to learn from our mistakes in that game.”
The ninth inning rally marked the third time in the contest the Lady Tigers battled out of a deficit. Jones’ run also accounted for the only Demopolis lead in the game.
“It’s believing that they can get the job done,” Browder said of his team, which has mounted a four-game win streak. “They are learning how to win those close ballgames. The chemistry is working. They’re playing hard and believing in each other.”
Demopolis surrendered a run in the top of the eighth to fall behind 4-3. Riley King proved the catalyst for a comeback effort in the home half of the eighth when she hit a flare to right center that she quickly turned into a hustle double. Two batters later, Jade Montgomery laced an single through to score King and tie the game.
The Lady Tigers previously tied the game with a pair of rallies in the third and fourth innings. Washburn and Tatum each singled in the second inning before Colyar ripped a double to score both runners and cut the deficit to 3-2. Lawrence walked to lead off the home half of the fourth before scoring on a RBI grounder by Olivia Brame.
The comeback effort handed Tatum the win. The senior hurler began the game in center field but took over pitching duties in the fourth inning after a solid start from Zoe Lewis, who allowed three runs including two of the unearned variety over three innings.
“That tandem has been part of our game plan all year long,” Browder said. “Zoe pitched a good ball game. We came back to tie it up and Danielle came in to finish it.”
Tatum’s relief effort included a scintillating four-inning stretch in which she struck out 10 batters and allowed only three balls to be put in play.
Lady Tiger batters tallied 10 total hits, coaxed five walks, reached on errors four times and struck out 12 times in the contest.
Washburn finished with two singles and run scored. Tatum singled twice, walked once and scored twice. Colyar doubled, scored and knocked in two runs. Jones walked three times, tripled, scored and picked up two RBIs.
Lewis singled. King doubled and scored. Lawrence singled, walked and drove in a run. Montgomery singled twice and picked up a RBI. Brame picked up a RBI.
The Lady Tigers are scheduled to play this weekend in Jackson in the annual Tombigbee tournament.
