By Stephen Smoot
Although the first day could have made some thing the sun ain’t gonna shine anymore, the day featured brilliant sunshine and calm weather. A Lincoln squad wearied by the four and a half hour slog through the prior day’s rain took to the field. Both teams had endured a loss and both teams faced elimination.
Lincoln tried to jump start their game in the first as they had the day prior. Sadie Jones came up second in the lineup, but provided the first hit. She sent the first pitch to her back up the middle for a base hit. Adrianna Elder followed and worked a full count. A perfectly placed pitch painted the low outside corner of the strike zone and ended the Lincoln threat.
Independence could not muster offense in the first, but held the Cougars scoreless in the second.
Then the Patriots struck and put two runs on the board.
Jones led off the top of the fourth with a single, followed by a Sampson base hit that only cleared the reaching second baseman’s glove by inches. Elder’s line drive base hit loaded the bases for Dyer, who hit a flare to left and brought in a run, but left the bases loaded with Cougars.
Kerstyn Leggett wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity before her, hitting a line drive and picking up a run batted in as Lincoln knotted up Independence at two. Gracie Hardesty, sent in to pinch hit, sent a ground ball to first, but the Patriot manning that base alertly fired the ball in to get the lead runner out and keep the score tied.
Not for long, however, as Addie Moore hit a ground ball to first almost identical to that of Leggett. This time the throw home sailed over the head of the catcher and Lincoln took a three to two advantage.
Independence stopped the scoring there and posted three runs in their half of the fourth to seize a five to three lead, but only briefly.
The Patriots set down the first two batters in the top of the fifth, but Adrianna Elder earned a walk on four pitches. Independence pitched to Lincoln batters carefully, nibbling at the edges and trying to force swings at pitches outside the strike zone rather than confronting them. Aspen Dyer got down no balls and two strikes in her at bat, but then watched two pitches sail high, the second of those forced her to pull her head back to keep from getting hit.
Dyer earned a full count, then popped a bloop single into shallow right. This put runners at the corners for Leggett who hit a missile to right field for a single, driving in two runs to tie the game at five.
At that point, however, Independence dug in. They’d score four in the bottom of the sixth and keep Lincoln from scoring the rest of the game.
That, however, is not very likely where this team’s story concludes. With the exception of Haleigh Hyre, this squad has no seniors. Alongside the three juniors, Adriana Elder, Addison Moore, and Haleigh Gump, the heart of the team lies in the sophomore class.
For two more years at least, Lincoln’s big bad bats will continue to terrify Class AA, and pretty much any team of any size on their schedule.
And next week, Lincoln High School’s baseball team will travel to Huntington and compete on Monday June 8. As of press time, however, the WVSSAC has not yet set the seedings. They will serve as the second part of the “Organization of the Month” honor, reflecting the immense difficulty teams face in earning their way to states in both softball and baseball.
