By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
After suffering their first loss in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play the previous day (a 13-4 loss to Eastern Brown), the North Adams Lady Devils had little time to think about that and instead had to immediately had to turn their focus to a game the next day with the best overall record in the conference, the Peebles Lady Indians.
At the time of this April 23 rivalry match up, the Peebles squad had suffered just one loss and were in almost a dead heat with the Fairfield Lady Lions for the top spot in the small school division of the SHAC while the Lady Devils held the top spot in the big school, though their lead had been shaved to just two games after the loss to Eastern. Peebles and North Adams is always a natural rivalry and Thursday’s softball match up was no disappointment to the nice-sized crowd on hand as the two teams battled to the final out before the visitors pulled out a come-from-behind 5-3 victory.
“We took a tough loss on Wednesday but I am so proud of the resilience in these girls,” said North Adams head coach Paula Armstrong. “They picked each other up, learned from the loss, as did I, and showed up at Peebles the next day with a positive attitude. Once again they pulled together and got the job done.”
Two of the top pitchers in the Southeast District were facing off on Thursday, Peebles’ southpaw Kaelyn Musser and North Adams’ Carlee Garrison, both in the top five in the SHAC in victories, and both lived up to that by tossing blanks for their first three innings of work. The first hit of the game was double to right by Musser in the bottom of the second, but she was gunned down at third trying to stretch it into a triple. That cost the Lady Indians a run when Amryn Carroll singled to center later in the frame.
After seeing their first nine hitters retired, the Lady Devils finally broke the ice when they came to the plate in the top half of the fourth. Marnie Tolle led off with a single, followed by Garrison reaching on an error. A base hit to center by Paige Evans saw Tolle thrown out at home trying to score from second. Garrison was apparently forced at third on a ground ball back to Musser by Chloe Armstrong, but an appeal was the call overturned, leaving the bases loaded. Marley Whalen followed with another comebacker to Musser, who threw to first for the out with Garrison scoring the game’s first run.
That North Adams lead was very short-lived as the Lady Indians struck for a two in the bottom of the fourth in a big way. Second baseman Jerzi Tong led off with a double down the left field line and the next hitter, Kendall Myers, found the first pitch she saw to her liking and drove it over the right field fence to give Peebles a 2-1 advantage.
The home team maintained that one-run lead until the top half or the sixth when the Lady Devils stormed back in front. Toole led off the frame reaching on an error and moved her up one base with a single to center. The bases were loaded after Evans reached safely on another Peebles fielding miscue and Armstrong flipped the scoreboard with a two-base hit to left, scoring Toole and Garrison. A ground out by Whalen brought Evans across the plate and Armstrong raced home on an RBI ground out by Riley Woods, giving North Adams a 5-2 lead.
Peebles got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth when with one away, Myers got an infield hit and was sacrificed to second by Musser. A ground ball off the bat of Kendall Young was misplayed at first base, allowing Myers to score and slicing the North Adams lead to two runs.
The Lady Devils went scoreless in the top of the seventh , giving the home side one more opportunity. In the bottom of the seventh, Garrison retired the side in order, getting Aleah Purcell swinging for the final out in a crucial 5-3 conference win for the North Adams nine.
In the center circle, Carlee Garrison was the winning pitcher, tossing all seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs and striking out nine. Musser took the hard luck loss, also firing seven innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run while fanning six North Adams hitters.
At the plate, the Lady Indians got a big day from Kendall Myers, who went 2 for 3 and drove home two with her fourth inning homer, her fourth of the season. The vaunted North Adams offense was held to just four hits but took advantage of Peebles mistakes to push across five runs.
“Carlee did a great job on the mound and has confidence in her teammates to make the plays on defense, which they have done so well this season,” added Coach Armstrong. “Offensively, we had good quality at-bats and put the ball in play. Our top of the lineup did their job and got on base and our middle did well driving them in. The dugout energy was great and this was a great team win.”
Both teams were back in action before the end of the week in on-conference play. The Lady Devils defeated Greenfield McLain 10-7 on Friday afternoon, rising the strength of a pair of Chloe Armstrong homers, her eighth and ninth of the season, adding to her school record. The Lady Indians were on the road Saturday, traveling to Piketon where they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hand of the Lady Redstreaks.
As this edition went to press, North Adams stood at 15-4 overall, 8-1 in conference play, two games up on Eastern Brown with four SHAC games remaining on the schedule (Lynchburg, Manchester, and West Union twice).
Peebles stood at 13-3 overall, 6-2 in the conference, neck and neck with Fairfield (7-2). The Lady Indians have five conference games left on the schedule (Lynchburg, Fayetteville, Manchester, Fairfield and Whiteoak).
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