Lady Eagles rally, capture division crown
Apr. 15—INGOMAR — West Union's softball team is young, but now it bears another label: Division champion.
The No. 9-ranked Lady Eagles rallied in the sixth inning and beat rival Ingomar 7-4 on Saturday to capture the Division 2-1A title, their first in seven years.
The win avenged a loss to Ingomar earlier in the week, a game in which first-year head coach Jake McDonald lamented his team's undisciplined approach at the plate.
"When the lights come on and you get a pitcher in front of you, sometimes your head gets a little crazy and you think a little bit different," McDonald said. "But they finally started doing it and it paid off for them."
West Union (18-5, 7-1) had just one hit through the first five innings and trailed 4-2. The sixth began favorably when freshman Sadie Cobb reached on a dropped fly ball, and then freshman Mollie Reaves reached via walk.
Seventh grader Braley Martin then smashed a two-run double to tie the game. She later scored on a wild pitch to give the Lady Eagles a 5-4 lead.
"She is tough as well get-out," McDonald said of Martin. "She's a competitor, and she can do that any time she wants to, when she does what she's supposed to do."
West Union pitcher Addison Collum (16-5) kept her team in the game after a rough start. The freshman yielded three runs in the first inning and another in the third. But she then held Ingomar (9-10, 5-3) to just one hit over the final four innings.
Collum allowed seven hits total, struck out nine and walked four.
"My defense made plays. The curve and screwball were working. I settled in, and everything started working," she said.
Cadi Jo Byrd (5-5) took the loss. She allowed just three hits but walked 10.
Extra Bases
Big Inning: Martin drove in two with her double in the sixth, then scored on a wild pitch. Lucy Jumper scored on a pop-out after the catcher and third baseman collided, and then Parker Gates laced an RBI single.
Big Stat: Ingomar committed two errors in the sixth inning.
Coach Speak: "I think we were excited to play today, and sometimes it doesn't go your way." — Ingomar's Bailey Montgomery
