Summer Fastpitch Team Suffers First Defeat
Dayton, OH (July 8, 2004) Last Thursday, Lady Spartans 14 and under team had to deal with their first upset of the season. It was a tough game for the girls, who were up by two runs going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Dark clouds were running around above the field, but the weather remained playable throughout the entire game. It was in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lady Rams heated things up by scoring two runs to tie the game.
The first batter reached first base on a walk and managed to steal second before Cathy Prince made an out from shortstop. The runner on second base reached home on the strength of some great base running skills. The next batter reached first on a fielder's error. Soon after reaching first, that batter stole home. The final two outs were tallied after a runner was hit by the ball on their way to second base, followed by and Emily Fultz strike out.
The Rams took the field while the Lady Spartans prepared to bat. Allison Streifthay opened the inning with a hit to third base, beating the throw to the bag. Tammy Smith followed things up with a nice hit, but was thrown out.
On the play to first Streifthay tried to steal home, but was thrown out to make the second put out for the Spartans. Thea Coleman kept things alive for the girls with a hit to left field that earned her a double. Before the Rams could claim their third out, Coleman stole home and made the score 6-5.
The Spartans took control in the bottom of the fifth with three quick outs.
A runner reached first on a walk before batter number two struck out by Fultz's fastball. Meanwhile, the runner on first tried to steal home, but Carolyn Alcorn made a spectacular play tagging her out by diving with her arms out in front of home plate. The final out was made when Fultz collected another strikeout.
Time was running out for the teams, so the sixth inning would be the final.
Ashley Miller made it to first on a passed ball before Nancy Rednour laid down a great sacrifice bunt. Alcorn moved the base runner to the scoreboard off a ground out but the girls offensive game was over when a third out was recorded by the Rams off a grounder.
The Lady Spartans were up by two runs and just needed to hold the Rams. Things started to go wrong when two runners reached base off a walk and field error. A Rams player then slammed the ball to center field for a triple tying the game. The final runner stole home and the game ended tagging the Spartans with their first ever loss.
"We had a great game. We just came out and took a while to get things going. We made little mistakes that cost us runs," Coach Greg Fultz said.
"We have three 11 year olds and they all did really well. I'm not disappointed with anything. They are still learning and they're going to make mistakes. We played this team previously and only won by two runs. They're a tough team," Fultz noted.
One of the reasons the Lady Spartans struggled during the game was the pitching. The Rams pitcher is significantly slower than most of the pitchers that the Spartans have faced. That made it harder to adjust at the plate.
"We run into a lot of faster pitchers, that pitch 25 to 30 mph," Fultz added.
After the game the girls were pretty upset to lose their perfect record, which now stands at7-1, but Fultz assured them that he was still proud of them.
The girls were sitting in a line down the bench as Fultz.
"All the defense was there, but you're all 14 years old and you're going to make some mistakes. You all are doing a great job. Do not hold your heads down because you did a great job," Fultz said to the saddened athletes.
The girls will finish off their season next week during the tournament games.
