Lady Rams take All ‘A’

By AARON SNYDER — The Independent

WESTWOOD Sat, May 17 2008

— Led by the arm and bat of Paige Vanhoose, Raceland became 16th Region All “A” Champions for the second straight season, defeating Fairview 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Vanhoose retired six straight Lady Eagles before coming to the plate in the bottom of the fourth.
Fairview starting pitcher Hannah Daniel had held Raceland (11-3) in check, retiring the first nine batters she faced.
After Jessi Clark walked, Vanhoose gave the Lady Rams their first hit of the game, an RBI triple to deep left field. Raceland scored three times in the inning.
“Once we go one time through the order, I feel pretty comfortable with our bats,” said Raceland coach Jessi Clark. “That’s why I knew the fourth inning was going to be a big inning for us.”
While the fourth was huge for the Lady Rams, it was devastating for the Lady Eagles. Daniel, who had already struck out six batters, was injured on a play at the plate in which Vanhoose scored on a passed ball.
“I really thought we were going to win it tonight, but that kind of broke our back,” said Fairview coach Rick Thompson. “(Hannah) is more or less our player that everybody gets around. She is a spark plug.”
According to Thompson, Daniel should not miss any further time from the injury.
Sierra Manier relieved Daniel and struck out the first batter she faced. But the Lady Rams managed to score three more times in the fifth inning.
Alex Meade drove in two runs in the fifth. Raceland tallied all seven of its hits in the final three innings.
“This is a great feeling,” Clark said. “I’ll finally be able to sleep. It seems like I haven’t been able to sleep for a week.”
Both teams traveled halfway to Menifee County on Saturday just to make a trip back after rain had postponed the games.
Fairview, which had won four in a row before this loss, even made a return trip to Menifee County, where it pounded out 12 hits in a 17-2 win over Elliott County.
“We made a pact last Tuesday that the season was officially starting,” said Thompson, who took over head coaching duties after former coach Tonya Lucas had to leave the team three weeks ago to take care of her mother.
Fairview (5-5) started off with a bang, getting a double from Manier and a single from Daniel, but Vanhoose settled down and strung together three consecutive strikeouts to get out of the first inning.
Vanhoose struck out 13 Lady Eagles and gave up four hits over seven innings of work.
“She’s a fierce competitor,” Clark said. “She has been making life hard on a lot of teams.”
According to Clark, Vanhoose and seniors Kala Blevins and Hallie Cook have been valiant leaders this season.
“I can’t say enough for the three seniors,” Clark said. “They’ve been the heart and soul of this team and are a big reason why we are All “A” champions.”
Shelby Valley awaits Raceland to determine which team will be making a trip to Louisville for the All “A” state championship. The time and date of the game have yet to be determined, but it will be played at Shelby Valley.

FAIRVIEW 000 000 1 — 1 4 5
RACELAND 000 330 x — 6 7 0
H. Daniel, Manier (4) and A. Daniel; Vanhoose and Lewis. W—Vanhoose. L—H. Daniel. 2B—Fairview, Manier, Raceland, Grubb. 3B—Raceland, Vanhoose.