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Lady Panthers win nail-biter over R. Hill
LibertyRachelSmith
Liberty's Rachel Smith still makes the toss out at first after having to slide for the ball.

With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Lady Panther Cassidy Collum displayed her patience and pitching savvy. The Lady Panthers had bases loaded but two outs. Focused and knowing she was ahead in the count with three balls and one strike, Collum waited as the pitch came her way and saw that it was high and outside.
Knowing not to swing the Lady Panthers beat Richmond Hill 4-3 as Wildcat pitcher Ally Crum walked in the game-ending run for Liberty. The action took place on the Lady Panthers field.
“That was a pressure situation….Cassidy Collum finishing the game with a great at bat,” Lady Panther coach Jerome Standard said. “She was very disciplined at the plate… The kids never gave up. It was a good quality game against a good team.”
Lady Panther Kathryn Carter pitched all seven innings. She struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone.
The Liberty girls held a 3-1 lead until the fifth inning. The Wildcats tied the score and the battle ensued until the walk-in game-ender.
There were two missed opportunities by the Lady Panthers in the fifth and sixth innings to regain the lead.
After sitting out a few games due to injuries, the Lady Panthers welcomed back Riley Davis and Serena Davenport to the outfield. Both girls had huge hits.
Davenport slugged a double and Davis hit a double but reached third on a Wildcat error.
When Davis reached third she had the chance to add a run, but as she slid into home her leg went up and over the plate. She was tagged before she could get her leg down. Another missed shot was when the Lady Panthers loaded the bases but couldn’t get a hit needed to cross the plate.
With Davis and Davenport back in the game and Tia Anderson adding to the outfield, the Wildcats had a tough time converting their nine hits into runs.
“Our outfield sealed up a lot,” Standard said. “There is not as much space out there to hit the ball to.”
Lady Wildcat coach Angie Hummeldorf said her team was hitting, although sometimes reaching on some bad pitches. She said it was the Liberty defense that made the plays on what would have normally been base-gaining hits.
“They caught the ball,” she said. “That made a difference.”
Hummeldorf added Liberty’s pitcher was another game changer.
“I couldn’t tell you the last time we had that many team strikeouts,” she said. “Kat did a good job pitching today. Last year we came in here and were slugging the ball against her. This year we did not. They made some adjustments and we didn’t.”
Lady Panther Rachel Smith was 2-of-3 with 1 RBI, Carter, Diamond Richardson, Davenport, Davis and Kaleigh Fisher were all 1-of-3. Carter had 1 RBI. Taylor Rine was 1-of-4.
Lady Wildcat Natalie Corbin led the Wildcats, going 3-of-4 with a double.
Izzy Marsh was 2-of-4 with 1 RBI, Caroline Williams was 1-of-4 with 1 RBI and Liz Wallace was 1-of-3 with 1 RBI.
The Lady Panthers host Bradwell at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The girls are 9-8 overall and 1-1 in Region 3-AAAA.

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