CLOVER – The Blythewood softball team rebounded from their 9-3 loss to Clover in the second round of the District 1 Tournament with a 7-2 victory over River Bluff Friday in an elimination game.
Four days later, the fifth-seeded Bengals (20-9) saw their season come to an end after a 10-5 road loss to No.4 Clover Tuesday.
Against No.8 River Bluff, Gabby Cook hit a 2-run home run, Ashley Duncan hit a solo home run, and Keeley Hughes had two hits including a double. Rhames Weisinger drove in two runs.
Charlotte Martin pitched five innings of four-hit ball, giving up two unearned runs in the first inning and throwing four scoreless innings after that. Lily Zell came on to start the fifth inning and gave up no hits, striking out four to close out the win.
“We kind of cruised through to the end,” Blythewood head coach Jordan Atkinson said Friday. “We hit the ball hard, hit it right at them late in the game, but we were still making contact. The defense was excellent tonight. Charlotte pitched well and Lily came in and closed it out.”
Martin and the Blythewood defense got off to a shaky start Friday. Gabby Fryer reached second base on an outfield error and Alexis Jodie drew a walk before Martin struck out Lauren Whitmer.
Blythe Sanders grounded out in the infield but Fryer scored the first run of the game. Caroline Tucker singled to drive in Jodie to make it 2-0 Gators.
Tucker got caught trying to steal second to end the inning, and pretty much closed out River Bluff’s best chance of beating the Bengals.
Hughes led off the Blythewood half of the first with a walk. Macie Young bunted Hughes over to second, and Hughes scored when Weisinger grounded out.
Duncan followed up with her solo shot that landed over the centerfield fence to even the score at 2-2.
After Raygan Segars drew a walk, Cook blasted her home run, a shot that also landed over the centerfield fence and gave Blythewood a 4-2 lead.
Zelle struck out looking to retire the side.
The Bengals got two more runs in the second inning, one on Hughes’ one-out RBI single that scored Makalah Ford, and another on Weisinger’s sacrifice fly that scored Hughes to make it 6-2.
River Bluff relief pitcher Arden Leagan, who took over in the first inning, kept Blythewood scoreless in the third through the fifth innings. The Bengals got their final run when Young drove in Ford on a 1-out sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Blythewood, which battled Clover as a region rival in previous seasons, had done so in close games until the last game, which got out of hand early and the Blue Eagles got three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-3 lead going into the seventh.
“We gave them four runs,” Atkinson said about the Clover game, in which the Bengals committed three errors. “We gave them three in the first on some errors, and one more in the later innings, but (a) 6-3 (deficit) is manageable, 9-3 in the seventh is a little different story.”
Blythewood was to play Clover Monday but like almost every other athletic event in the state, it was postponed to Tuesday.
When the Bengals did play the Blue Eagles, they took a 2-0 lead when Keeley Hughes stole home with one out in the first inning and Raygan Segars hit a 2-out single in the third inning that drove in Gabby Cook.
Clover scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning, but Blythewood responded with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Hughes doubled to leftfield and drove in Cici Martin and Makalah Ford to tie the game at 4. Later in the inning, Zalayha Rhodes scored the go-ahead run on Weisinger’s sacrifice fly.
The Bengals’ lead didn’t last long. Clover scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-5 lead, and blew the game open with a 4-run fifth inning.
May 7
Blythewood – 0-1-0-0-2-0-0 – 3, 5, 3
Clover – 3-2-1-0-0-3-X – 9, 12, 1
WP: Emilee Lessmister, 5 IP, 4H, 3R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K.
B – Rhames Weisinger 2-4. Keeley Hughes 2B.
Friday
River Bluff – 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 – 2, 4, 0
Blythewood – 4-2-0-0-0-1-X – 7, 7, 2
WP: Charlotte Martin, 5 IP, 4H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB 4K.
B – Keeley Hughes 2-2, 2B. Gabby Cook HR, 2 RBI. Rhames Weisinger 2 RBI. Ashley Duncan HR.
Tuesday
Blythewood – 1-0-1-3-0-0-0 – 5, 8, 1
Clover – 0-0-4-2-4-0-X – 10, 9, 3
WP: Sydney Kok, 3 IP, 5H, 5R, 3ER, 1BB, 2K.
B – Keeley Hughes 3-4, 2B (2), 2 RBI. Makalah Ford 2-3.
