With just two more conference doubleheaders on the schedule and both teams in contention for one of just four spots to the state tournament, both Batesville Pioneers softball and baseball games meant just a little bit more Tuesday night.
In the opener on the softball side, the Lady Pioneers entered the day in the fourth and final spot to go to state while Searcy was second in the conference and just one game back.
Junior Brylie Simpson would once again take to the hill for the Lady Pioneers, and after getting the leadoff hitter to ground out, Searcy would strike first with a solo home run to take a 1-0 lead.
The offense would be held scoreless in the first, but would come alive in the third as junior Sophie Poole would reach on a hit-by-pitch, be advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Hannah Kimmer, reach third on a junior Kaelyn Gooch single, and after a defensive miscue by Searcy, would even up the score at one as she crossed the plate.
The Lady Pioneers would take their first lead of the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth as junior Abby Hurley would leadoff with a double and score on a Simpson single the next hitter up. Simpson would settle in, holding the Lions scoreless until the top of the sixth as they would plate a run to tie up the ballgame.
The Lady Pioneers would be unable to score in their next two at-bats sending the game to extras. Despite holding two runners in scoring position in the extra frame, one run would cross and the Lady Pioneers would be down to their final three outs in the bottom half of the inning. With the ghost runner at second, Kimmer would advance the runner on a sacrifice bunt and send Gooch back to the plate with a chance to tie or win the ballgame. On the first pitch of the at-bat, she would send a high flyball deep to left-center field, clearing the fence, and giving the Lady Pioneers a walk-off two-run home run to win the game. Simpson would pick up the win on eight innings pitched, giving up two earned runs on nine hits, two walks, with three strikeouts.
In the nightcap, the Lion offense would come alive and defeat the Lady Pioneers 12-2 to force a series split.
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On the baseball diamond, the Pioneers would look for a sweep of the Lions after an absolute gem by senior Gage Wood in the opener and an offensive barrage to capture a mercy-rule 10-0 victory.
Celebrating Senior Night, the seniors would show out in the nightcap. Senior Caleb Teague would take to the hill for game two and show why he will be heading to play college ball in the fall.
With the Pioneers as the away team, they picked right up where they left off in the first game as Teague would single with one out, courtesy runner sophomore Jace Jeffrey would advance to second on a senior Jack Lanier single with senior Dayshaun Brown running for him as both runners advanced on a sacrifice fly by Wood. Freshman Mark Brissey would hit a sharp grounder to second that couldn’t be contained by the defender scoring Jeffrey and giving the Pioneers the lead.
They would then tack on another in the first on a wild pitch and take a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.
Teague came out dealing, as he struck out the leadoff hitter, walked the second batter, but picked him off at first, then struck out the next hitter to end the inning. In the second, sophomore Beau Baxter would lead off with a double, advance to third on a junior Luke Brissey single, and score on the sacrifice bunt from senior Wes Lange to extend their lead to three.
Teague would continue to deal taking a no-hitter to the bottom of the fourth before giving up his first hit, but Searcy was still unable to plate any runs.
The Pioneer offense would come alive again in the fifth as Wood would start a 2-out rally with a single, be joined by Mark Brissey who reached on an error and both would score on senior John Thomas Morgan’s two-out double. Morgan would then reach third on the throw and score on the next batter as Baxter reached on an error by the third baseman, inflating the lead to 6-0.
In the sixth, the Pioneer offense would strike for even more runs as Lange would bunt for a single and score two hitters later on a Teague double. Jeffrey would score on the next at-bat as Lanier would single and Wood would clear the bases the next hitter with a triple to deep center, then score his own run on a throwing error by the Lions. This would force the mercy rule into play if Searcy was unable to score.
Searcy would ground out to start the bottom of the sixth, and Teague would add another strikeout to his total before hitting the next batter. Same as he’d done in the first Teague would pickoff the runner and end the ballgame for another 10-0 victory for the Pioneers.
Teague would end the ballgame going the complete six innings, giving up just two hits, three walks, with nine strikeouts.
Both teams return to the diamond to continue 5A East play next Tuesday at Marion with the first game of the doubleheader set to start at 4:30 p.m. as softball is set for a Thursday non-conference home matchup with Sylvan Hills before rejoining the baseball team Tuesday.
Join Wes Gwaltney as he follows select Pioneers baseball and softball games throughout the season with play-by-play action on CBS Sports Radio 1340 AM KBTA with broadcasts also streamed on the CBS Sports Radio 1340 AM KBTA Facebook page (click here to like and follow).
Article by Wes Gwaltney, White River Now
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