Harriman Lady Devils Continue to Sweep District
By Terry Futrell
“Give ‘em an inch and they will take a mile!” The Wartburg Lady Bulldogs found out how true that statement could be when they faced the Harriman Lady Devils in the District 3-A Softball Tournament Tuesday evening. After four and one-half scoreless innings of a near-perfect defensive struggle between the two teams, Wartburg “gave an inch” with two critical fielding errors. That was all it took for the Lady Devils to charge ahead, blowing out the Lady Bulldogs 8-1 in the last two innings.
The winners’ bracket battle between Wartburg and Harriman was dominated by excellent pitching and near-perfect fielding by both teams with the scoreboard displaying only zeros. Wartburg pitcher Madelyn “Bit” Cox and Harriman pitcher Autumn Phillips each demonstrated both speed and control. Cox walked only one batter in the first four innings and every Harriman hit was thwarted by Wartburg fielding. Phillips struck out five Wartburg batters without walking any during the first five innings, and Harriman’s defensive play shut down every Wartburg scoring opportunity. The performance by both teams was as good as any witnessed during the entire season.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, disaster struck for Wartburg. With one out, Wartburg infielders committed two consecutive errors putting runners on first and second. Ananda Bertram singled on a bunt, loading the bases for Harriman. Aleena Goldston followed with a single to left field, scoring Nataya Moore. At that point, Wartburg’s worst nightmare became reality as Harriman slugger Micaela Goins stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Goins doubled on a hard ground ball to center field, driving in two more Lady Devil runs. Wartburg’s defense then closed out the fifth inning trailing 0-3.
Wartburg could not deliver in the top of the sixth, with only one batter reaching base on an error by Harriman. And then the floodgates opened for Harriman in the bottom of the sixth. Lily Taylor led off with a single for Harriman and advanced to second on a sacrifice fly by Breeanna Hickey. Moore then singled on an infield grounder, scoring Taylor. Cox struck out the next Harriman batter, and with two outs, things still did not look too bad for the Lady Bulldogs.
But the nightmare was not over for Wartburg. Bertram turned an infield fly into a double, advancing Moore to third. Goldston followed suit, hitting a hard line drive to left field for a double, scoring Moore. Once again, Micaela Goins stepped up to the plate with two runners on base. Goins connected with the first pitch, driving a long fly ball over the center field fence, scoring three more runs for the Lady Devils. After allowing another base runner as a result of an infield error, Wartburg finally closed out the inning trailing 0-8.
With one last opportunity, Wartburg’s Mikaela Smith singled on a fly ball to center field. The next three Wartburg batters could do no better than hit infield grounders. Smith managed to score, but suddenly it was over with Harriman taking the victory 8-1.
Harriman remains undefeated in District 3-A play and faces Coalfield Thursday evening at 7 PM. Wartburg drops to the losers’ bracket and faces the Midway Lady Waves on Wednesday at 5 PM.
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