It was an exciting game on the softball field at Midway High School on Thursday night when the Lady Raiders hosted Triton in non-conference action. After falling behind 2-0 halfway through the game, Midway rallied in the later innings and snagged a 4-2 victory to get back into the win column.
The game started out as a pitchers duel with the defenses dominating. Each team was able to get a smattering of baserunners aboard but until the fourth inning, scoring was not happening and the game was tied 0-0 in the top of the fourth.
Things quickly changed there, with the Lady Hawks coming out of nowhere with hot bats.
Bailey Johnson got things going, beating out a bunt at first base to lead off with a single. Takyra McLean nailed a line drive into right field, which yielded extra bases, and Triton had runners at second and third with no outs. Aubree Bass singled, scoring Johnson for a Lady Hawks 1-0 lead. Two batters later Stephanie Davis lad down another bunt which she also beat out at first base and allowed McLean to score to make it 2-0. Midway finally got out of the jam but suddenly found themselves trailing.
The fourth inning saw the game return to its defensive nature as did the top of the fifth inning where the Lady Hawks went three up three down. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Raiders finally showed some offensive signs of life.
McKenzie Williams kicked things off with a double to center field and Sam Carter moved her over to third on a sacrifice. Another sacrifice by Tamia Gwynn scored Williams and the Triton lead was halved to 2-1.
In bottom of the sixth, Midway again generated another run to tie the game up. It was all started by Mollie Bass, who led the inning off with a double to right field. Two batters later, Kara Beth Benton followed suit with another double into right, bringing Bass home to tie it up two all. The Lady Raiders went down in order after the rally, but the game was all tied up heading to the seventh inning.
There, Midway avoided any damage from being inflicted after they gave up a couple walks and maintained the tie score.
The Lady Raiders rallied and put on a display of a clutch at bats starting with Carter took advantage of a Triton error. A bad throw from shortstop to first, allowed Carter to reach second base with no outs. The next Raider batters went down by way of strikeouts, putting Peyton Herring at the plate with two outs. Facing a full count, Herring placed a well hit ball over the head of the Triton center fielder, scoring Carter in the process for the game-winning run. Herring sped through the bases to bring in the fourth run to bring the win and an in the park homer, securing the win for the Lady Raiders, 4-2.
Leading batters for Midway were Benton with two hits and Kiley Ives, Herring, Bass, and Williams all with one hit each.
With the win, the Lady Raiders are now 3-1 on the season. They will travel to Triton for a rematch on Monday and will host South Lenoir on Wednesday.