by Rusty Ellis
The DeKalb County Tigerettes took an early lead and fought off a furious Livingston Academy rally on Tuesday night to advance in the District 7/AAA Tournament and keep their season alive with an 11-8 victory.
The Tigerettes plated five runs in the first for an early 5-0 lead, as RBI hits from Aniston Farler and Kora Kilgore helped power the inning. After LA got one of the runs back in the second off a Maddie Gaw RBI groundout, DeKalb immediately responded with a two-run second inning thanks to a Farler sacrifice fly and a Gracie Randolph RBI single.
Bailey Hutchison got one of those runs back on an RBI double in the third, but DeKalb got that run right back on a Farler single in the fourth to make the score 8-2.
Livingston’s rally began in the top of the sixth. Trailing 8-3, a two-run single by Tatum Pendergrass cut the lead down to 8-5. Two batters later, an out at first appeared to end the inning, but it was decided that Madison Martin’s foot came off the bag before the out was recorded, keeping the inning alive for the Lady Wildcats.
RBI hits by Kendall Simpson and Hutchison tied the game up at 8-8 from there, as Livingston was right back in the ballgame after trailing by six.
DeKalb didn’t take long to respond though, as they got RBI singles from Emma Martin and Aly Griffith, along with an RBI double off the bat of Kilgore to take an 11-8 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. After a quick top of the seventh inning, it was DeKalb who extended their season another day.
While a little bit more exciting than what she was hoping for, head coach Danielle Horton says she was just proud of her team for not folding late when Livingston had their rally.
“We got up early 5-0, and from there, we just didn’t make some plays in the field we normally make,” Horton said. “I knew they would come back and fight, and we seemed like we got a little nonchalant there…they took advantage of them, but when we came back in, I told them it was time for them to show they wanted it, and they did what they needed to do to win and advance.”
The bottom of the order came through for Horton in the bottom of the sixth, and she’s hoping that’ll continue as tournament play moves forward.
“When we come together, our whole team can hit one through nine,” Horton said. “Emma and Aly are both seniors and I know they didn’t want their season to end yet. When we need something to get done, they come through for us.”
DeKalb will now play the winner of Stone Memorial-White County at 8 P.M. on Wednesday night, and Horton is hoping to see the energy she saw early from this game when they take the field again.
“I hope they realize that just because we’ve beaten a team in the regular season doesn’t mean we’ll beat them here,” Horton said. “Everybody wants to keep their season alive, so we’ve got to do whatever it takes to win.”
