LINDEN – It was big numbers night as North Montgomery’s softball team came from nine runs down to win their fifth in a row with a 22-17 victory over Crawfordsville
The Chargers, now 9-13 for the season, have won eight of their last 11. They sit at 4-7 in the Sagamore Conference.
The Athenians fall to 2-19 overall and 1-10 in the league.
Trailing 17-8 heading into their at-bat in the fourth inning, the Chargers proceeded to score 14 in a row over three at-bats, showing that history sometimes does repeat itself after the come-from-behind win just 24 hours earlier at Crawfordsville.”
“These girls just never give up,” North coach Rob Earley said. “They just look at the scoreboard and get to work. They have figured some things out. Down nine doesn’t matter. They have such great attitudes.”
The Chargers had some work to do.
The Athenians scored six runs in the first, six more in the third and five in the fourth. They scored six unearned runs.
And lost.
The Chargers took advantage of 25 walks issued by Athenians pitchers, and that patience at the plate paid off, as they tied the game in the second, and then charged back from way back to win.
They pushed six across in the fourth, a pair in the fifth and six more in the sixth, as they scored in each at-bat.
“We had the top of our order have just an amazing night at the plate,” Earley said of of Sophia Shea, Ella McManomy, Piper Ramey and Cascie Keller, who combined for 16 runs. “But look at the bottom of the order – one big hit after another and five runs scored.”
McManomy reached base three times and drove in three, plus turned in a yeoman’s job behind the plate.
“She was the Player of the Game,” Earley noted of the freshman, who also had a putout at the plate on a wild pitch. “She stepped above her level and showed what she is made of.”
Ramey, who gets on base half of her trips up, had three hits, walked twice and scored five runs. The one time she didn’t get on, she drove in a run. She finished with three RBI, while Keller had a whopping six runs driven in.
The sophomore also picked up the pitching win in relief of Hope Delp, who started and went four innings.
“I told Piper that we needed two or three innings,” Earley said, “and she gave us that. Our defense turning two double plays (earlier in the game) was also huge. We made too many errors, and Crawfordsville is such a great-hitting team. We were just able to be patient at the plate and draw all those walks.”
Ramey runs her pitching record to 7-7 with the win.
The Athenians tallied a season-best with their 17 runs.
“We came ready to hit," C’ville coach Mackenzi Landrum said. “We were comfortable in the batters box, we produced runs. Top to bottom we executed, and defensively we were solid. We are growing, and we are improving, and we will continue to grow and improve. This team has gotten so much better mentally and physically and as young ladies. That is what we are after.”
Halle Elliott had two hits and scored twice from the bottom of the batting order, and Jessica Tribble added three hits and two runs.
“Those two seniors hit the ball well,” Landrum said. “They did their jobs as hitters and as seniors.”
Celeste Moore scored three runs to lead the visitors. Five other players scored twice. Brooklyn Mills had a pair of doubles as Crawfordsville had 18 hits, double the hits for the Chargers.
Molly Pierce, Olivia Hedrick and Mills worked the pitchers circle for CHS.
“These girls have such great attitudes.” Earley reiterated. “I know I can’t, and won’t give up on them because they never give up on the team. We are rolling right now, at just the right time. We have to continue to keep working and get better.
Both teams have plenty of action left before sectionals start on May 22.
The Athenians travel to Seeger Friday, play North White on Saturday, and then close out the regular season with conference games against Frankfort Monday and Tuesday. They have another conference game Thursday at Lebanon.
The Chargers are off until Monday and Tuesday with home and away games against Tri-West. They have a Thursday game against Southmont and a Friday game against Central Catholic.
