LADY TIGERS HOST HOME GAME UNDER THE LIGHTS AT RSHS

By Kevin Phillips

CALVERT-After being held scoreless for the first four innings of its’ UCBAC Chesapeake Division softball contest against visiting North East, Rising Sun’s bats woke up for the final two innings with the bottom of the lineup providing the spark.

The Tigers plated three in the fifth and four in the sixth to erase the deficit and used a dominant relief effort from Faith McCullough to earn a 7-3 come from behind victory over the Indians Thursday night.

“We just got the energy up, and when we do that, our bats come alive. That’s all we had to do,” Rising Sun’s Josalyn McMillan said.

With the Tigers trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Catherine Meadows led off the frame with a line drive single to left, stole second and scored on a Kaylee Pruett single to make it 3-1. Pruett moved to second on the throw home on her single, stole third and scored on a Sam Dixon single.

After a line out and a walk, Dixon tied the game at 3-3 when she scored on a Jordan Lynch groundout, and Rising Sun knew it had to be a team effort for them to get back in the game after its early deficit.

“I think we were all saying in our heads, ‘there’s no reason why we should be losing this game.’ We had to do it, and we had to do it together,” McCullogh said.

Bri Cole and Meadows started the Tigers’ rally in the bottom of the sixth when the pair had back-to-back one out singles. Pruett hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who’s throw to third to force out Lexi Haywood, who pinch ran for Cole, was high, and Haywood scored on the play to give Rising Sun the lead.

Following a strikeout, McMillan laced a double down the right field line, plating Meadows and Pruett to make it 6-3, and McMillian scored on a dropped fly ball on a ball hit by McCullough to cap the scoring at 7-3.

McCullough struck out a pair of Indians in the top of the seventh to secure the victory for RIsing Sun, and she picked up the win in relief, striking out 11 and allowing one hit in four and a third innings pitched.

“I do it a lot whether it is travel ball or here, but I haven’t done as much this year,” McCullough said of her mindset coming into the game in the fourth inning. “I just knew I had to step up for my team, do what needed to be done, not give up any hits and throw my best pitches.”

Tiger head coach Paul Taylor knew McCullough was ready to come in the game at a moment’s notice whenever he looked at McCullough early in the contest.

“I think I knew right away (that she wanted to come in) because she kept staring in the dugout, even in the second inning,” Taylor said.

“On the flipside of that, Faith felt that yesterday when I relieved her with Cadence (Wiliams) when she got in a hole. I think Faith said ‘hmm. Are you going to show the same faith in me to come in?’ She’s always a fighter. She doesn’t back down from anything.”

The Indians scored one run in each of the first three innings to build their lead, starting with Mackenzie Langshaw scoring on a Reagan Hassell groundout. North East made it 2-0 in the top of the second when Victoria McGee scored on a Carli Minear groundout.

McGee gave the Indians a 3-0 lead when she plated Jazmyn Martin with a single in the top of the third.