BLADENBORO – The West Bladen Lady Knights defeated the Red Springs Lady Red Devils for a 4-3 victory last Tuesday in a SAC 6 Conference clash.
The Lady Red Devils held a 3-1 lead going into the final inning of Tuesday’s game and things seemed to be in their control with two straight outs to start the at-bat. West Bladen junior Kali Allen was able to get on base with a bunt to give the host a slither of hope. Senior Holland Davis slapped a grounder towards the third-base and she was able to beat out a wild throw to first; the throw went over the first-baseman’s head and Allen was able to wheel around towards home plate on the error to put the Lady Knights within one of their opponents.
Davis was able to steal second amongst the chaos and eventually made her way to third during Marlene Crabtree’s at-bat. Crabtree showed patience in the batter’s box and earned a walk to place runners on the corners. West Bladen junior Breena Hester was called upon again to deliver yet another clutch moment for the Lady Knights this season. Hester drove a solid swing towards centerfield to bring around Davis and Crabtree to seal the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Crabtree also pitched a complete game from the center-circle on Tuesday as she allowed three runs on three hits, while walking one and striking out three of the 29 batters faced. The Lady Knights only had three hits as a team in their victory on Tuesday but the script went much differently in their road match-up against Red Springs on Friday. West Bladen took care of business in four innings on Friday evening as they claimed a 20-2 victory in their final game of the regular-season.
The Lady Knights had 13 hits as a team and they held their opponents to just two runs with Crabtree staring in the center-circle. Allen went 3-for-4 at the plate and she was responsible for three RBIs to lead the Lady Knights in the hitting department last Friday. West Bladen finished their regular-season schedule with an overall record of 10-7 and they claimed second-place in the SAC 6 standings with a 7-3 record. They are currently ranked 19th in the 2A East Region RPI and will likely be on the road for the first round of the postseason.
The Midway Lady Raiders secure their seventh straight conference title after defeating St. Pauls twice last week to finish their conference schedule undefeated. The Lady Raiders have posted an overall record of 16-2 and are ranked first in the RPI-rankings this season. St. Pauls and Fairmount will have a chance at the postseason as well.