TENNERTON – The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Buc softball team ran their winning streak to six games earlier this week with a home game on Monday against East Fairmont and a road contest at Robert C. Byrd on Tuesday.
The Lady Bucs downed East Fairmont in five innings by a 12-4 score then needed extra innings to beat Robert C. Byrd by a 9-5 score.
The two victories left head coach Levi Bender’s squad with a 6-1 record.
“We have played pretty well over this stretch but we now get into the part of our schedule where we really get to see what kind of team we have,” stated Bender.
Buckhannon-Upshur took a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first against East Fairmont when Taylor Spratt singled to center, stole second and scored on a double by Alyssa Abel. Abel then stole third and scored on a passed ball.
East Fairmont tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the second but B-U took the lead right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second when Reagan Mason scored on an error and Sophie Lantz scored on a passed ball.
East Fairmont tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the third but again the Lady Bucs responded, this time with four runs in their half of the third inning.
Abel had the big hit in the inning, a one-run double while Reese Curry hit a two-run single. That gave the Lady Bucs an 8-4 lead.
B-U pushed across four more runs in the bottom of the fourth with the inning being highlighted by a two-run triple from Mason.
“East Fairmont kept it close for a while going toe to toe in the scoring for a couple of innings,” remarked Bender. “We showed our youth and inexperience in some moments but we’re able to stay even keeled as a team. Their coaching staff had a game plan, really slowed the game down but our girls never fed into the mind games. They all should be really proud of the adversity we overcame.”
The Lady Bucs collected eight hits in the win with Abel leading the way with three while Mason had two.
Kailey Hart earned the win going all five innings. She gave up three earned runs on six hits while not walking a batter and fanning seven.
“I would like to highlight a couple moments that won’t show in the box score,” stated Bender. “Shaylee Hebb took a seat tonight but really stepped up as a courtesy runner for Kailey Hart. Her couple of steals really ignited our girls and gave us back the momentum to answer back in the middle innings. Reese Curry didn’t have the best night defensively but she stepped up when it counted. You never know what hero story you’re going to get, and hers was one of exactly what the theme of our team is overcoming adversity.”
Against Robert C. Byrd, the game was tied at 1-1 until B-U took their first lead in the top of the fourth when Hart led of the frame with a single and later scored on a ground out.
B-U extended their lead to 5-1 with a pair of run producing doubles by Kimble and Spratt.
Robert C. Byrd matched those three runs in their half of their fifth and tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a run at 5-5, which forced the game into extra innings.
The Lady Bucs didn’t waste any time in extra innings as they produced four runs.
“That eighth inning was littered with little moments that led to something bigger,” noted Bender. “A lead-off single by Mason, sacrifice bunt by Katarah Linger and a single by Lantz extended the inning long enough for the top of the order to come up and continue to do damage at the plate.”
Kimble, who started the game for B-U, set down the Eagles in order in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the win.
The Lady Bucs outhit the Eagles by a nine-eight margin with Kimble, Hart and Mason each getting two.
Kimble threw all eight innings for the win as she gave up four earned runs on eight hits while not walking a batter and whiffing nine.
“Jansen and Alyssa worked well again in the circle,” stated Bender. “They held off RCB’s offense when it mattered most. This is the first time Jansen has went seven innings this season and she was really tested in that area so it was a really nice sign to see her show that bulldog mentality. This was a really great team win against a well coached team who always makes our games a dog fight for seven plus innings.”
The Lady Bucs will be off the rest of the week and will return to action Monday at Philip Barbour. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.
The boxscores:
East Fairmont 022 00 – 4
Buckhannon-Upshur 224 4x – 12
E – East Fairmont 3, Buckhannon-Upshur 3. DP – East Fairmont 1. LoB – East Fairmont 6; Buckhannon-Upshur 3. 2B – A. Abel 2. 3B – Mason. SB – Delbrook, Smock, Lantz 3, A. Abel 2, Curry 2, Hebb, Kimble, Linger, Mason, Spratt.
Hitting
East Fairmont – Isabella Vincent 2b, 2 0 1 0; Marissa Delbrook 3b, 2 1 0 0; Sophia Stevens p, 3 1 1 0; Victoria Snyder 1b, 3 0 0 0; Lindsey Abel rf, 3 0 1 1; Bella Talerico ss, 3 1 1 0; Somya Cottingham lf, 3 1 2 1; Kameryn Smock cf, 2 0 0 0; Brooklyn Haddix c, 2 0 0 1. Totals 23 4 6 3.
Buckhannon-Upshur – Jansen Kimble 1b, 2 0 0 0; Taylor Spratt 3b, 3 1 1 0; Kailey Hart p, 1 0 0 0; Alyssa Abel rf, 3 3 3 2; Quinn Burnside eh, 3 1 1 1; Reagan Mason ss, 3 2 2 2; Katarah Linger 2b, 1 1 0 0; Reese Curry cf, 3 1 1 2; Sophie Lantz lf, 1 1 0 0; Morgan Frame lf,1 0 0 0; Shaylee Hebb cr, 0 2 0 0; Emily Bacorn c, 0 0 0 0. Totals 21 12 8 7.
Pitching
East Fairmont – Stevens (L): 4 innings, 8 hits, 12 runs, 7 earned runs, 6 walks, 1 strikeout, 1 wild pitch.
Buckhannon-Upshur – Hart (W): 5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 1 wild pitch, 2 hit batsmen (Vincent, Delbrook).
Buckhannon-Upshur 010 130 04 – 9
Robert C. Byrd 100 031 00 – 5
E – Buckhannon-Upshur 1; Robert C. Byrd 3. DP – Buckhannon-Upshur 1. LoB – Buckhannon-Upshur 8; Robert C. Byrd 5. 2B – Abel, Kimble, Spratt. HR – Childers. Sac. – Linger 2, Prieto. SB – Abel, Howe, Dunn, Hardy.
Hitting
Buckhannon-Upshur – Jansen Kimble p, 5 2 2 2; Taylor Spratt 3b, 3 1 1 2; Kailey Hart 1b, 5 1 2 1; Alyssa Abel c, 5 1 1 1; Quinn Burnside eh, 1 0 0 0; Shaylee Hebb eh, 4 0 0 0; Reagan Mason ss, 3 1 2 1; Katarah Linger 2b, 1 1 0 0; Reese Curry cf, 4 0 0 0; Sophie Lantz lf, 2 2 1 0. Totals 33 9 9 7.
Robert C. Byrd – Alyssa Dunn cf, 3 1 1 0; Gina Alvaro c, 4 2 2 0; Avery Childers 1b, 3 1 2 3; Ava Junkins ss, 4 0 0 0; Tori Anderson p, 2 0 1 1; McKenzie Davis p, 2 0 0 0; Lexi Hardy 3b, 4 1 1 0; Martina Howe lf, 4 0 1 0; Isabella Prieto rf, 2 0 0 1; Khloe McAvoy 2b, 3 0 0 0. Totals 31 5 8 5.
Pitching
Buckhannon-Upshur – Kimble (W): 8 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts, 2 hit batsmen (Dunn, Childers).
Robert C. Byrd – Anderson: 4 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts; Davis (L): 4 innings, 6 hits, 7 runs, 5 earned runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 2 hit batsmen (Linger, Mason).
