Tara Gilbert had a game to remember Tuesday in leading the Russellville Lady Panthers to a 3-2 win over visiting Logan County. The sophomore not only pitched the win but banged out a pair of hits, had an RBI and scored the winning run.
Junior first baseman Johnea Pendleton doubled in Gilbert for the winning run in the seventh inning.
The game, which featured four lead changes, saw Coach Brandy Trimble’s Lady Panthers beat LCHS for the first time since April 11, 2006. It also was the sixth straight win for Trimble’s team since an opening day loss to Bowling Green. The Lady Panthers had won no more than four games in any of the last eight years. (For background, see a recent story on The LoJo at http://www.theloganjournal.com/Stories.aspx?Article=sports634).
The Lady Panthers sit atop Fourth Region standings with those six victories. They are also leading District 13, since they had won over Todd Central a week earlier.
On the mound, Gilbert allowed no earned runs, four hits and four walks while striking out five over six innings of work.
Logan’s Megan Ferguson ended up on the wrong side of the pitching decision, charged with the loss, even though she had good numbers. She walked two, struck out four, and allowed three runs.
Pendleton’s game-winning hit was one of two she recorded. Malynn Ray and Rachel Fisher got the other RHS hits, Ray and Cierra Collins scored the other runs. Collins and Taryn Gray worked the only walks Ferguson allowed. All four of the strikeouts came from the bottom of the order.
Tristan Hales, Paige Jones, Sierra Morrow and Tori Pollard all singled for Logan off Gilbert. Hales and Morrow drove in the two runs with Pollard and Raegan Cole scoring them. Hales walked twice with Macy Meacham and Cole getting the other free passes from Gilbert.
Ferguson reached twice on Lady Panther errors with Morrow and Cole also reaching on miscues. Fisher, Russellville’s lone senior, was the only one to reach on an error for the winners.