Revenge-minded CC falls short

Charles City pitcher Sydney Richard fields a throw and tosses the ball to first baseman Sierra Adkins in time to retire K&Q’s Ashley Nicole.

Andre' Jones photo

In a rematch with the visiting King & Queen Lady Tigers, Charles City Lady Panthers looked to extract revenge over a previous loss. But it was the visitors’ fourth inning explosion that sealed the contest.

A grand slam with two outs by the Lady Tigers’ Kelsey Oldman capped off a nine-run fourth inning as the visitors went on to an 18-8 victory over the Lady Panthers on March 28.

Early on, the hosts were in firm command. After giving up two runs in the top of the first, back-to-back singles by Sierra Adkins and Sydney Richard coupled with a Caylin Stewart walked loaded the bases in the bottom half of the frame.

A wild pitch allowed Adkins and Richard to score to knot the score at two. Stewart would later score on another wild pitch and Meryah Bates crossed the plate on a Samantha Cannada sacrifice to give the Lady Panthers a 4-2 lead heading into the next inning.

King & Queen rallied with a single from Oldman who brought in two runs that recaptured the lead (5-4) for the guests. Adkins’ error along with a Richard wild pitch allowed three additional runs as the Lady Tigers doubled the Lady Panthers score (8-4).

The Lady Panthers narrowed the margin to three in the bottom of the third as Adrienne Miles singled and scored after stealing two bases. However, that was the closest the Lady Panthers could get.

Trailing 9-5, Richard walked home a Lady Tiger and then two consecutive one-run singles widened the margin to seven. That’s when Oldman stepped to the plate, blasted a shot to center field over the outstretched glove of Bates, and gave the guests a 16-5 lead. The Lady Tigers tacked on an additional run plus one in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Charles City’s final runs came from Caylin Stewart’s single that brought Miles in, along with Bates’ sacrifice that dictated the final margin.

After the game, first year head coach Lauren Wood talk about the key frame.

“In the two games we played, we lost [the game] in one inning,” said the disappointed head coach. “It’s a new team and we’re still learning to play with each other.”

Charles City falls to 0-2, while King & Queen improves to 2-1.