Kylah Gardner drove MaKyla Bell’s pitch over the deepest part of the park for a three-run homerun to complete the Lady Tigers’ four-run fifth and clinch the 4-1 win in the opener of the three-game weekend series.
Keivana Dura gave up one run in the first before striking out 15 of the next 24 batters that came up to the plate. The senior transfer from Rollins gave up a pair of singles in the second and that was all she wrote for the Panthers offense.
MaKyla Bell pitched a gem for four and a third innings. The Lady Panthers’ defense came up with big stops to shut down any threats through the first four innings. junior from Mount Vernon, GA spread.
Jodee Matos got the Lady Tigers started in the fifth earning a free trip to first base. Freshman Olivia Garci moved her over with a single. Throwing errors allowed both to advance a base with leadoff hitter Laura Scott, who had a single earlier, in the box.
Scott hit a line drive right at shortstop Andreya Hunter who gloved it cleanly and came up throwing to the plate. Catcher Sierra Lopez took a step right to make the catch before diving back to her left to make the tag on the sliding Matos.
Out was the call made by the umpire. It surprised Matos and the rest of the Edward Waters team and coaches.
Kaylah Newman picked up the lost run with a single to center that allowed Garci to score from third and Scott to advance another 60 ft. All knotted at 1-1 and Kylah Gardner coming to the plate, head coach Mike Ellison huddled with his batter during the time out called by Clark Atlanta head coach Nicole Bayona.
Gardner led the Lady Tigers in home runs last season driving in 48 runs on 49 hits. “When the first pitch was a ball, I turned around and told the girls sitting in the dugout she’s (Gardner) fixing to jack one right here,” said Ellison. “And she proved me right.”
The teams will face off twice on Sunday beginning at 11 am.
GAME PHOTOS
All photos by Jason McDonald, JM Photography for CORE360 Sports