After slow start, Lady Trojans pull away from Bruton

New Kent’s Haley Baker makes a slide into third base safely in front of Bruton’s Madelina Yates.

Robb Johnson photo

The winless Lady Panthers of Bruton looked to pull off an upset against the hosting New Kent Lady Trojans on Apr. 24. While New Kent emerged victorious, it wasn’t without its tense moments.

The Lady Trojans recovered from a slow start and fought off a comeback attempt by the visitors as they escaped with an 8-4 win over Bruton.
With the game scoreless heading into the top of the fourth, an error by New Kent allowed Bruon baserunners Maekayla Phoenix and Megan Hicks crossed home plate to take a 2-0 advantage.

New Kent rebounding in their half of the inning, coming up with runs in big situations. Already with two outs registered, New Kent’s Amya Evans’ single drove in two runs to tie the game up. In the bottom of the fifth inning, New Kent’s Haley Baker and McKenna Mueller crossed home plate for the Trojans, providing the hosts a 4-2 advantage.

But Bruton started to wear down Lady Trojan pitcher Gracie Ellis. Ellis allowed four hits to the guests, paired with uncharacteristic miscues, Bruton pushed across two more runs to tie the game at four apiece.

New Kent finally settled down in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting to Bruton’s pitching staff. The hosts hit the ball into play five times, allowing pinch runner Jasmine Burrell to cross home plate to provide the run that bestowed the hosts the lead for good. Three more runs were tacked on by the Lady Trojans, providing a margin that Bruton couldn’t overcome.

After the contest, Lady Trojan head coach Maria Bates talked about her team needing to get up for every game and not underestimate a team based on their record.

“Bruton played great defense and you would have never known that they were 0-10,” she said. “They came out and played tough today.

“We had to manufacture runs and we were hitting line drives they were just catching,” Bates continued. “We had to turn to small ball and execute and that is what really won the game for us today.”

The Lady Trojans improve their record to 10-2.