ROCKY POINT – Trailing 5-3 going into the seventh inning, the Lady Eagles put together a six-run rally and knocked off Heidi Trask for the first time in school history, 9-6, in a Four County Conference game Wednesday.
The win pushed East Bladen to 5-8 overall and 3-7 in the conference.
The Lady Eagles scored in the top of the first when Johanna Parker was hit by a pitch and came home on Emily Scott’s RBI triple.
But the Lady Titans answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning and one in the third for a 3-1 lead.
East Bladen plated two runs in the fourth inning when Parker was hit for the second time and, moments later, scored on Scott’s RBI single. After Scott swiped second base, she scored on a run-scoring single by Izzy Smith to knot the game at 3-3.
Heidi Trask responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth to take a 5-3 edge.
After a scoreless sixth inning, East Bladen began its rally in the seventh. Trask errors put Scott and Izzy Smith on base ahead of a two-run triple by Lorna Mendell that knotted the game at 5-5. Majesti Corbett was hit by a pitch, a sacrifice bunt by Anna Kate White plated Mendell and moved Corbett to second and Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson stroked a single before Parker ripped an RBI double. Faith Johnson then followed with a two-run double that gave the lady Eagles a 9-5 lead.
The Lady Titans scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to finish the game.
“Coming from behind in the seventh is a big deal for this team,” said East Bladen coach Patty Evers. “We have never beat Trask and it was competitive … stepping stones.”
Scott lead East Bladen at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, while Mendell was 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBI.
Kaley Smith earned the win in the circle, twirling a complete-game five-hitter.
East Bladen will host Wallace-Rose Hill on Friday at 6 p.m. for Senior Night.
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Lady Knights win, 4-0
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In Dublin on Wednesday, Sophia Singletary twirled a two-hitter and the Lady Knights got out of a bases loaded with no outs jam in the top of the first inning to hold off visiting Pender County, 4-0, in a Four County Conference game.
The win improves West Bladen to 13-3 overall, 8-1 in the conference.
After weathering the Lady Patriots’ first-inning threat, thanks to a spectacular play by third-baseman Carley Dawson for a double-play, West Bladen got things going in the bottom of the third when Jenna Dove reached on an error, moved up on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by Logan Autry.
The Lady Knights added two runs in the fourth behind a pair of Pender County miscues for a 3-0 lead.
In the sixth inning, Dawson led off with a double, Singletary singled and Conner Brisson lofted a sacrifice fly to give West Bladen its final run.
“Solid defensive effort from everyone,” said West Bladen coach Joey Autry. ” Sophia was solid in the circle … we struggled at the plate, but a gutsy effort all in all. Proud of the girls.”
Singletary earned the win, twirling the two-hitter, walking one and fanning two.
At the plate, Dawson was 2-for-2 with a double and Autry was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Lady Knights were scheduled to battle Wallace-Rose Hill on Thursday.
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Eagles, Knight advance
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In Clinton on Wednesday, East Bladen’s Robert Meggs took second place in the Four County Conference tennis tournament, the Eagles’ doubles team of Gabe Barnes and Michael McDuffie — along with West Bladen singles player Tate Sykes — all advanced to the Mid-East Regional.
Meggs won two singles matches en route to the second-place finish, including a win over Sykes in a 7-5 tie-breaker in his second match.
McDuffie and Barnes cruised through their first match before getting knocked off in the semifinals.
The Mid-East Regional will be held in Goldsboro on Friday, May 5.
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Eagles rip Heidi Trask
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In Rocky Point on Wednesday, Pierce Melvin scattered six hits and fanned eight to lead East Bladen past Heidi Trask, 10-1, in a Four County Conference game.
The Eagles improved to 11-5 overall, 9-2 in the conference.
East Bladen got on the board with two runs in the first on a sacrifice fly from Xavier Wooten and an RBI single from Josh McKoy.
The lead went to 3-0 in the second behind an RBI triple by Sincere Smith.
Trask nicked Melvin for a run in the home half of the second, but East Bladen answered with three runs in the fourth frame on an RBI single by Deondre Newkirk and two-run single from Kyle Tatum for a 6-1 edge.
In the sixth, the Eagles plated two on a two run single by Brooks McGill, and East Bladen added two more in the seventh when Smith laced an RBI single and McGill lofted a sacrifice fly.
Smith was 4-for-4 at the plate with a triple, double and two RBI. Tatum was 3-for-4 with two RBI and Newkirk was 3-for-4. McKoy was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Melvin went 2-for-4 and McGill drove in three.
East Bladen will host Wallace-Rose Hill for Senior Night on Friday at 7 p.m.
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Knights rout Pender
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In Dublin on Wednesday, the Knights blasted visiting Pender County, 14-2, in a Four County Conference game.
West Bladen is now 10-9 overall and 8-3 in the conference.
The Knights were scheduled to face Clinton on the road Thursday in a conference game.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.