A classic pitchers’ duel Friday ended with a 1-0 Lady Cougar win in the year’s first Clash of the Lady Cats. Logan seventh grader Abby Hinton and Russellville junior Tara Gilbert were otherwise close to perfection.
The game’s only run scored with two outs in the fourth inning when number seven hitter Rosie Kerchenski singled, and number eight hitter Jillian McLellan doubled her in. It was the only time in the game that Gilbert allowed a Lady Cougar to reach third base, let alone home.
The Lady Cougars seemed to have a rally going in the third inning. Lady Cougar leadoff batter Brea Croslin singled, and eighth grader Sydney Lee sacrifice bunted her over. Seeing RHS third baseman Macy Meacham off base to field the bunt, Croslin tried to stretch it to third. Lady Panther leftfielder Susanna Higgins alertly came in to cover third and tagged out Croslin. That cost Logan a run, since senior Torrie Pollard—the team’s only player in the upper two grades—laced what probably would have been an RBI single. She was stranded.
Croslin had also singled to start the Logan offense in the first inning, but she was out trying to steal second. In the second inning, Kennedy Nichols led off with a single. With two outs, McLellan walked to move over courtesy runner Sara Beth Hale, but Gilbert got freshman Blayke Bingham to ground out to single to end that threat.
Eighth grader Abby Canler singled to open the seventh inning, but the Lady Cougars couldn’t advance her.
Hinton retired nine of the first 10 Lady Panthers she faced, five of them on strikeouts. The exception was a single by freshman Taryn Gray, who was batting for her sister, veteran junior catcher Tiffany Gray. Hinton struck out Tonisha Hampton and Johnea Pendleton to stifle that threat.
As a batter, Gilbert led off the third with a single, but that turned into an out when she tried unsuccessfully to stretch it into a double. That was unfortunate for the visitors, since freshman Brooklyn Ray followed with a double.
Gilbert singled again with two outs in the sixth, but Hinton got Ray to ground out to Croslin at short to end that threat. Then in the seventh, Hinton retired the heart of the RHS order—junior Allison McDaniel, Taryn Gray and Hampton in order. Hampton fouled out to Logan catcher Nichols to end the game.
Logan finished with seven hits—two by Croslin and one each by Pollard, Canler, Nichols, Kerchenski, and McLellan. Gilbert walked only one Lady Cougar—McLellan.
Gilbert got two of the five hits for Coach Calvin Head’s Lady Panthers. Cierra Collins, Gray and Ray got the others. Hinton didn’t walk a batter and struck out five Lady Panthers.
Side notes found Brandy Trimble, who coached the Lady Panthers to two wins over Logan last year, is now the Lady Cougar coach. Her sister, Amanda Hampton, has coached with her both places. Croslin started for the Lady Panthers as a fifth grader and now is in her third year as a Lady Cougar starter. Meacham was starting for RHS three years ago when her dad Greg was the coach. The last two years she has been a starter for Logan, but now is back in the Lady Panther lineup.
The Lady Cougars’ record improved to 3-5. RHS’ worksheet fell to 5-7.
The next Clash of the Lady Cats is scheduled in two weeks on April 19.