The Lady Waves traveled to Rockwood on Tuesday to take on their biggest district rivals, the Lady Tigers. Rockwood had not beaten the SOR girls in a few years and were hoping to start their own winning streak. The Lady Waves hoped to continue their dominance over the last four years and pick up a big district win.
Midway got off to a slow start, going three up, three down in the first inning. Dee Borum made a great catch in center field, second baseman Taylor Narramore cleanly fielded an infield pop up, and pitcher Michelle Walden fielded a grounder and threw to Taylr Hall at first to keep the score tied after one.
Right fielder Alex Richardson led off the second inning with a single, then moved over to second on a Narramore ground out. Midway got on the score board when short stop Hayley Patterson punched a hard line drive to left field to score Richardson. Catcher Paige Moree then blasted a hard shot to center field to bring in Patterson. 2-0 Midway. Rockwood got nothing in the bottom of the second.
In the top of the third, the Lady Waves put runners on the bases, but not across the plate. In the bottom of the inning, the wheels came off for Midway. The Lady Tigers scored three unearned runs and took a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, Patterson drew a lead off walk, then Moree hit into a fielder’s choice at second. With one out, third baseman Hali Morris drilled the ball up the middle to drive in Moree and end up at second. A couple of strike outs later, the score was tied 3-3.
Throughout the fourth and fifth innings, the Lady Waves played some good defense, with two ground outs to Morris, a ground out to Patterson and two ground outs to Richardson, who relieved Walden at pitcher in the fourth.
In the sixth inning, it appeared that Midway had broken things open. A Morris single, a double by Borum, and a single by first baseman Taylr Hall helped give the Lady Waves a 6-3 lead. But the game was not over. In the bottom of the sixth, Rockwood would score two runs to cut the lead to 6-5.
Midway couldn’t get anything in the seventh, so it would be up to the defense. With Walden back on the mound for the last inning, the Lady Tigers got a couple of blooper hits after the first two outs. The game would be decided on the last batter. With runners on first and second, the Rockwood batter hit a slow roller to Patterson at short stop. With a late throw to first, the runner was safe, and it looked like the bases would be loaded. Nope! The Rockwood coach had sent the runner from second to home to try for the tying run. It was going to be close. First baseman Taylr Hall turned and gunned the ball home to the waiting Midway catcher, Paige Moree. Moree caught the ball and applied the tag. She’s out! The Lady Waves escaped the Tiger den with a 6-5 victory.
After Thursday’s trip to Greenback for another district game was cancelled due to rain, the home game with Greenback on Friday was changed to a double header. A very chilly double header.
The first game started off a little shaky for the Lady Waves, as the Lady Cherokees put two runs on the board in the top of the first inning. However, the SOR girls soon settled down. Midway went on to score the next 17 runs of the game, and this contest ended after three innings due to the run rule. The Lady Waves beat the cover off the ball for the duration. Senior center fielder Haley Parks had an exceptional day at the plate, including two hits that came close to going yard. Midway fans were treated, not once, but twice to the sweet sound of the ball contacting chain link fencing in mid-flight, courtesy of Park’s bat. Final score: Lady Waves 17, Greenback 2.
In the second game, the Lady Waves were the visiting team on the score board. The Midway starters again came out to hit in the first inning of this one, and they continued to do so well. They led 10-0 after the top of one. For the bottom of the inning, the Lady Waves fielded a completely new defense. All nine players came from the bench, except for Richardson, who moved to pitcher. The Lady Cherokees managed to get one run on the board in the first, but the Midway defense soon tightened up and got out of the inning. The Lady Waves scored four more runs over the next two innings and gave up none. The game was called after three innings due to darkness and the score differential. Final score: Lady Waves 14, Greenback 1.
Top performers at the plate included Haley Parks (5-5, 3 RBI), Hayley Patterson (4-4, 4 RBI), and Paige Moree (3-3, 3 RBI). All the girls in the first group hit well. Top performers among the second group included Christina Stansbury (1-2, RBI) and Shade Narramore (1-2). Alisa Barger hit a sacrifice grounder in her only at-bat. Kayla Hamilton, Kayla Roberts and Halie Wiley all drew walks.
Walden and Richardson both had great outings from the pitchers plate. Walden had seven strikeouts while allowing only two hits and no walks. Richardson gave up no earned runs in her 3 innings on the mound.
Two decisive wins for the Lady Waves. There are not many teams around with the depth of the Midway bench. The Lady Waves can put their second team on the field and perform as well or better than many opposing teams’ starters. The next game for the Midway girls will be on Monday at Oakdale at 5:30 PM. On Tuesday, the Lady Waves will travel to Sweetwater for a double header, starting at 5 PM.