It’s been up and down for the Lady War Eagles so far this season, finding themselves on both the winning and losing sides. But the girls are celebrating their latest victory against Crawford and planning for two more games this week.
Tuesday, the War Eagles came from behind not once, but twice to pull out a victory in the bottom of the seventh with a walk, a bunt and an infield hit. The game had started out even, with Crawford scoring two in the top of the first and Putnam following suit. The teams remained tied until the sixth when Crawford came to bat and brought in four runs. Again, Putnam would follow the lead, leaving the game open for a final dramatic ending in the bottom of the seventh.
Head Coach Missy Cavender said the excitement was electrifying as the last play of the game actually came out of a call she changed her mind on.
“Rachel Montcrief was running for Jordan Davis who had walked. There was a bunt that moved her around to second and an infield hit that put her on third,” Cavender said. “The pitcher threw one in the dirt, and I had originally sent her but called her back because it didn’t go that far. She got into a rundown and the third baseman dropped the ball. She was safe at home. It was a very dramatic win.”
Cavender said the entire team rallied at the plate to make the win possible, spurred on by senior Marlee Griffin’s triple that flew over the left fielder’s head.
“We had all of the girls come through with clutch hits and clutch bunts. They did all the right things to come back and tie it up twice,” Cavender said. “They never gave up and played with a lot of heart.”
The Lady War Eagles are 2-2 in the region and have another region game Wednesday against Northeast. Cavendar said she is hoping to repeat on last year’s quick run-rule finish and a victory over the Macon program.
Fundraiser tonight
The team will also hold a special 25-inning game and a Home Run Derby at 4 p.m. Thursday at the high school to benefit the softball program.
“We encourage anyone in the public to come out and participate or just come and watch. If you want to try your skill during the game, we are charging $5 for 3 innings of play,” Cavender said. “For the homerun derby, we will charge $5 for you to get a chance to hit 10 pitches.”
Cavender said pitching for the homerun derby is expected to be with a pitching machine. All money raised will go to the PCHS softball girls to help purchase equipment and pay for tournaments, improvements at the new field and other small projects.
“Little things, like a shade for the fence and the dugout, new bats, equipment, catcher’s gear – stuff you are always needing to replace,” Cavender said. “We are also trying to get the girls in more tournaments this year, and those expenses usually start at $300 for registration and the expenses that go along with travel. We’d like to get them to more camps, and we are trying to get it where all of this money is not coming out of the girl’s pockets for these expenses.”
