Liberty County High School’s softball team let an early  lead slip away Thursday afternoon during its home game against Richmond Hill.
The Lady Panthers held a 3-1 lead, but the Lady Wildcats swung the momentum their way, scoring three runs in the fourth inning and four in the sixth en route to a 9-3 win.
After Richmond Hill scored a run in the first inning, Liberty’s Meagan Folker, Riley Davis and Kaleigh Fisher each scored a run to give the Lady Panthers the lead.
The Wildcats hit three doubles, two triples and a home run in the game. Liberty coach Jerome Standard said some of those balls were catchable, and it was defensive miscues that cost the game.
“Errors and misplayed balls in the outfield … we had to write several balls as hits because no one touched the ball … we should have made several plays,” he said.
Standard added it was just a matter of taking one step forward or rushing two steps back to make the play. Instead, he said, the players seemed flat-footed.
Fisher, a freshman, led the Liberty girls at bat, going 2 of 3 with a double and a run. Sophomore Lady Panther Kathryn Carter pitched six innings giving up 10 hits, eight runs and two walks and striking out five. Fisher pitched the last inning.
After beating Savannah Christian and Long County in his team’s previous two games, Standard said this loss should serve as a wake-up call to his players.
“We did not get better in this outing. However, it should be a red flag on what we know we have to work on to be very competitive in our region,” he said.
The Lady Panthers, 3-5 on the season, will host Claxton at 6 p.m. Wednesday.