Rebels complete epic comeback
Published 10:12 pm Thursday, April 13, 2017
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Thorsby softball opened area play in dramatic fashion with a 10-9 extra inning victory over Fayetteville at home on Tuesday.
The Rebels dug out of an eight-run hole, as the lineup slowly began to come alive and chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.
“They made errors in the first couple of innings and then they finally decided to get their act together,” Thorsby head coach Leighsa Robinson said. “They fought hard and came back.”
The game went to extra innings and was finally settled in the bottom of the ninth with following back-to-back doubles by Lindsey Burnett and Madisyn Ellison.
Burnett came around to score the winning run after Ellison’s walk-off RBI found the sweet spot in left center and split Fayetteville’s outfield defense.
Thorsby received continued contributions from its younger players, especially during its late game rally. Ellison is an eighth grader, while Burnett is in seventh grade.
“Our young ones are really stepping up when we need them,” Robinson said. “The team has the confidence in them, that we can put them in at any time and they will come through for us.”
The game winner was not the only memory that Ellison can take away from the game, as she hit her first career home run with a two-run shot to center in the fifth inning.
“I thought she was going to catch it,” Ellison said. “I didn’t really know what had happened until I got to third. I was in shock.”
Burnett went 4-for-5 on the night with a pair of doubles and a walk. She reached base all but one time in the game.
Several players finished with multiple hits in the game, including Irelan Childress and Hannah Smith, who joined the group of players at three hits.
“Everybody was real down [early on], but we just needed to get some base hits,” Ellison said. “Once we started, we didn’t stop.”
It was the final home game of the regular season for the Rebels and also served as senior night for Anna Hilyer, the lone senior on this year’s team.
Hilyer reached base in her first at-bat of senior night on a fielder’s choice, to the delight of the home crowd.
Addie Niamon went the distance and earned the win, as she settled in after the rocky start and finished with seven strikeouts.