MIDWAY, Ky. - While not identical, there was a stunning level of similarity between the two softball games played by Midway and Indiana Southeast Sunday.
The Eagles topped their River States Conference opponent 6-5 in both games, each win coming via a late-game rally that featured game-tying, two-run hit by
Randi Delong.
GAME ONE: MIDWAY 6, IU SOUTHEAST 5
The Eagles gave up three runs in the first inning and were held hitless for the first five-and-two-thirds. It looked like that would continue, when a sharply hit line drive by
Madison Hill appeared to land in the glove of a diving Sofia Guy in centerfield.
But after a brief conference, umpires ruled the ball had first hit the ground, which kick-started a stunning turnaround in which eight of the next 10 batters recorded hits.
Hill proceeded to score on a
Savannah Teale single, then
Peyton Henderson added an RBi single to cut the deficit to 3-2, before the inning ended with
Payton Druen being thrown out at third base.
IUS proceeded to add two insurance runs in the seventh inning. But Midway responded with three singles in four at-bats to load the bases with one out.
Hill cut the deficit to 5-3 with an RBI single, which set the stage for Delong,
who after hitting a game-winning home run against Brescia on Thursday, got to play hero again.
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On an 0-1 pitch, Delong blasted a double to the wall in left field, scoring
Karington Briscoe and
Diamond Wills to tie the game.Â
Midway wouldn't have to wait for the next at-bat to secure the win, as an arrant entry throw rolled all the way to the wall, allowing Hill to come home for the winning run on the error.
GAME TWO: MIDWAY 6, IU SOUTHEAST 5
The Eagles started faster in game two, taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning when Wills delivered an RBI before scoring on a groundout by Hill.
Indiana Southeast would snag the momentum back on a three-run Sofia Guy home run in the fifth, but that paved the way for another monster sixth inning.
The Eagle offense made it interesting again, thanks to singles by
Ella Baum and Hill as well as a Briscoe walk, which again forced the Grenadiers into the dreaded situation of facing Delong with the bases loaded and the game on the line.
Once again, she came through, this time singling up the middle to score two runs. Delong currently leads the RSC in home runs (seven), and is second in slugging (.870) and fourth in RBIs (32).
This time, Midway would need another hitter to come through and end the game, and luckily
Molly Wooldridge was up to the task, blooping a single into right field to score Hill for the winning run.
It was the second RBI of the game for Wooldridge, who also had an RBI double in the third. Briscoe had a great game as well, reaching base in all four of her plate appearances while scoring two runs.
In the circle,
Abigail Beller got the win by throwing two-and-a-third shutout innings of relief. Beller, who'd thrown just one inning at Midway coming in, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and ended the game with a 1-2-3 seventh.
The Eagles improve to 7-19 overall with a 6-12 mark in the RSC. They look to extend their win streak with a doubleheader trip to Kentucky Christian on Tuesday, with game one starting at 3 p.m.
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