A seventh-inning swoon Sunday afternoon cost the Tigerettes not only their game with Livingston Academy, 20-18, but also any chance of grabbing a share of the regular season district title.
Things looked sunny for the Tigerette softball squad as the sun dipped low in the sky, the home squad holding an 18-12 lead in their high scoring affair with the Lady Wildcats. At stake was a shot at a share of the district title if they could beat Livingston Academy, who they had already defeated earlier this season, and then figure out a way to knock off the Upperman Bees, who had stung them in their prior meeting this year, accounting for DeKalb’s only district loss.
The Tigerettes led the entire way, getting off to a 6-2 advantage in the first inning. Home runs by Kenzie France and Emme Colwell led the way for the DeKalb squad while triples by Maddison Parsley and Braya Murphy had helped cement their lead throughout most of the tilt.
The Tigerettes stretched their lead to as many as seven runs by the bottom of the fourth, leading 15-8. However, the Lady Wildcats had a good fifth, scoring four while holding their hosts to zero, cutting the lead to just three going into the sixth.
The Tigerettes were outhit by their guests, 18-17 but were still able to maintain their advantage and even build on it in the bottom of the sixth as they plated three runs for an 18-12 advantage with just one inning to go. Doubles by France and Joni Robinson and multiple hit games by Robinson, Allison Maynard, and Kristena Bain and a three-hit performance by Megan Walker kept hopes high that would be enough to keep the dream alive.
The sun would set; however, on their hopes as multiple field errors proved to be the difference between victory and defeat. The Tigerettes committed a season-high nine errors, many coming late in the game as the sun dipped to high level, making fielding difficult.
In the end, the Lady Wildcats were able to score eight runs in the final inning and then blank their hosts in the bottom of the seventh to take the victory.
The loss, coupled with a loss at Upperman Monday, set the Tigerettes at 11-3, locking them into the second seed in the upcoming district tourney. They are 17-10 overall, counting their 16-1 crushing of Smith County last week in a game that saw Megan Walker smashed a grand slam homerun.
