Panthers lose late lead, fall at home
Published 6:32 pm Wednesday, March 12, 2014
She’s in there: Marbury’s Loren Ross (right) slides safely into home plate during Monday’s game as Jemison’s Denten Ellison is unable to corral the ball in time to make a tag.
By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser
Jemison’s varsity softball team shut out Marbury through five innings on Monday.
But with Marbury also holding Jemison’s bats in check, the Bulldogs were able to score three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead and hold on for a 4-1 win.
Both teams managed to get runners on base in the first two innings, but neither was able to push those runners across the plate.
With two outs and the bases loaded for the Bulldogs (5-1) in the top of the third inning, a ground ball to pitcher Jessica Paschal allowed the Panthers (9-4) to escape the inning unscathed.
Another scoreless inning by the Bulldogs in the top of the fourth inning set up an opportunity for the Panthers to break the scoreless game in the bottom half of the frame.
With Emily Spain on base via a leadoff walk, a Denten Ellison infield grounder allowed Spain to score, giving the Panthers a one-run lead.
The Bulldogs went down quietly again in the fifth inning but picked up three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Consecutive walks to Loren Ross and Allison Smith led to a two-run double by Allison Weatherwill.
Two batters later, a Shelby Pope infield grounder scored Weatherwill and gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.
The Panthers threatened in the bottom half of the sixth inning with Spain on via a walk and Jennifer Paschal on with an infield single, but a pop-up caught by Bulldogs catcher Katie Cartee and a strikeout by pitcher Layton Murphy brought an end to the inning.
The Bulldogs added one more run in the top of the seventh when Ross made it home on a passed ball to give Marbury a three-run lead heading to the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the Panthers down to their last three outs and facing a three-run deficit, Murphy retired the Panthers all by herself, striking out three consecutive batters to seal the victory for Marbury.
Eight strikeouts, fours walks, three hits and one run allowed were the numbers for Murphy, who pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs.
Hannah Lee led the Bulldogs at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk.
Jessica Paschal pitched a complete game for the Panthers while allowing four hits, two earned runs and 10 walks, and recording eight strike outs.
Destiny Bailey, Jennifer Paschal and Ellison all had one hit each for the Panthers.
