Lady Warriors win season opener

Posted March 17, 2017 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Editor@heraldtrib.com

Josie Raby and Haley Troue each went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Mackenzie Pim also homered as the Steeleville Lady Warriors won their home and season opener with a 9-6 win over Anna-Jonesboro on Thursday.

Steeleville trailed 4-1 after two and a half innings thanks to a two-run homer by Anna-Jonesboro's Lexi Macy off Lady Warriors starter Sydney Hood in the top of the third.

But Steeleville came right back in the bottom of the inning on Pim's two-run blast to right field - a play in which Anna-Jonesboro's center fielder, Macy, was injured in a collision with the fence while chasing the fly ball.

"Getting down 4-1 was a little rough, but I think the girls fought back and got back in the game," said Steeleville coach Andy Gerlach. "That was one thing I did like about that, that they fought back and didn't lay down."

Steeleville took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of an error by Anna-Jonesboro first baseman Abby Williams to tie the game at 4 and then getting the go-ahead run on a bloop single by Raby.

"I just wanted the girls to come out and play well," Gerlach said. "I thought we had a rough start, but I thought during the later innings, we played well."

Steeleville continued to add on to its lead in the fifth, getting a RBI double by AnnaBeth Batson for a 6-4 lead and a run-scoring single by Troue for a three-run advantage.

The Lady Warriors added their final two runs in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead into the seventh, when Anna-Jonesboro scored its final two runs.

"I was nice that we put up nine runs, but defensively, I don't like giving up six runs," Gerlach said. "There were a couple of errors that we had that we need to fix."

Sydnie Furman and Lexi Middendorf also finished with RBIs for Steeleville, which banged out nine hits - including a double by Karley Kothe. Hood allowed all six runs (four earned) on six hits with nine strikeouts.

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