BY CARY TAYLOR, Staff Writer

On Friday March 14, the Lady Lions won an extra inning battle against the Bears of Truett McConnell. Freshman Allison Vaughn started the Lions off with a single into shallow left center. Then, sophomore Olivia Duncan, put down a successful sacrifice bunt putting Vaughn in scoring position. It seemed as though Piedmont was going to take the lead in the first inning, but a strikeout with a runner on second ended the inning.

After five Bear at bats, the Lions were at it again with a hard hit, leadoff single to center field by sophomore Abby Smith. Smith stole second and third base. Then, sophomore Laura Carter hit a sacrifice fly out to deep left center field to score Smith. At the end of two innings, the Lady Lions led by one.

After a scoreless third inning, the Bears tied it up in a run-down between third base and home plate. A sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to second base. Then a  ball dropped in the shallow infield to move the runner to third. After escaping the run-down Truett McConnell was back in the game.

The fifth inning was not ideal for either team. Both the Bears and the Lady Lions gained three outs after three at bats.

In the sixth, the Bears attempted to score by bunting their runner into scoring position. They gained a runner on second, but the batter could not come through with the clutch hit to bring in the leading run.

The bottom of the sixth started with a bang. Junior Abby Atkinson hit a screaming double down the third base line. She was able to steal third, but not the leading run. Two Lady Lions popped out, and another struck out to end the sixth inning.

After seven innings, the score was still tied at one. This ongoing battle continued into eight total innings.

The Lady Lion’s defense stepped up their game in extras. Truett McConnell made the mistake of hitting a ground ball to shortstop with a runner trying to take third. Piedmont did not let that happen. They tagged the runner immediately before she had a chance to touch the bag. Then, the Lady Lions turned a double play to end the top of the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, freshman Jessica Perschka put down a successful bunt-and-run to move the winning run to third base. Then, a wild throw to first base allowed that run to score. At the end of the day, the Lady Lions overcame the Bears with a score of 2-1.

“I have mixed emotions in regards to today’s game, but it was a great team win,” said Perschka.

“We escaped another close game. We did not hit the ball well, but the girls have not quit all year. That is the second game we have had to win in extra innings this weekend. You never feel good when you are not playing well, but you have to feel good if you get a win out of it,” said Head Coach Terry Martin.

Earlier that afternoon, the Lady Lions were victorious over Salem College. They scored eight runs in the bottom of the forth inning to make it 9-0. Sophomore pitcher Jordan Ellingson earned the shutout win.