The Portal Panthers softball team hosted the Jenkins County War Eagles on Thursday evening. The Lady Panthers were able to run off a couple runs including a walkoff to bring home the 12-11 victory.
At the top of the 7th, the Lady Panthers held a 9-7 lead. The War Eagles started off hot when Bethany Asbury singled to start the inning. Hilary Garvin followed with a single and Asbury advanced to the second base. Asbury would leave the game with an apparent knee injury.
Cayley Linder singled and that loaded the bases for the War Eagles. The next batter would connect on the ball and a runner scored to make it 9-8. Garvin would get tagged at home, but would leave with an injury.
Laura Gayle Dailey hit and that brought Mya Abraham home to tie the game at 9. WIth the game tied and runners at 2nd and 3rd base, an error at 1st base allowed 2 more runners to score off of a hit by Lynnsey Lane. The War Eagles went up 11-9 going into the bottom of the 7th.
Portal's Emma Johnson started off with a single due to a fielders error to get on base. Laila Parker followed up with a hit as well to get the tying run on base. Hilda Reyes sent the ball into the outfield to bring Johnson home to make the score 11-10. Katielyn Yates walked and that loaded the bases with the tying run at 3rd base.
The Panthers tied the game up with a fielder's choice. Halie Barnes came up to bat with the game tied. Barnes sent the ball right over the pitcher and it fell to the ground just in front of 2nd base. Reyes scored from 3rd to win the game for the Eagles.
A resilient effort by the War Eagles was snuffed out by timely hitting from the Lady Panthers. The Panthers went up 9-3 after huge 3rd and 4th innings. The 4th inning was highlighted by Rebie Grace Bryant's in the park home run that allowed for her and two others to score. Portal coach Travis Motes met with his starting lineup before their run surge in the bottom of the 3rd He said that he told them to make life easier for their pitcher and that it was easier to pitch when she knows that they have her back.
Coach Motes was proud to see his team stay poised and come away with the win. "I am very proud of them and the way they fought back and stayed in the game," Motes said. "We had some kids grow up and I personally like pressure." He believes that Thursday's game gave his team a small taste of what the playoff are going to look like.
Portal improves their record to 2-2 on the season and this game is great for the team's confidence after a tough loss their last time out.
Up Next:
The Lady Panthers will take on Emanuel County Institute on the road for their next game on Tuesday, August 27th.
ECI is currently leading the region and this would be a huge win for Portal.
