Lady Rams roll on

By ROCKY STANLEY - The Independent

CANNONSBURG Sat, May 17 2008

— Raceland’s softball team got just what it was looking for Monday night.
The Lady Rams warmed up for tonight’s All “A’’ sectional trip to Shelby Valley by defeating Boyd County 5-2.
“I woke up early this morning scared to death we were not going to play,’’ said Raceland coach Jason Clark, whose team had been off for almost a week. “I looked out the window and it was pouring.’’
The weather cleared up in the afternoon, however, and Raceland used a seventh-inning rally to extend its winning streak to eight games.
Two walks and a couple of errors opened the door as the Lady Rams scored four runs to erase a 2-1 deficit.
“We looked a little rusty in spots after not playing for a while, but this group of girls really competes and they found a way to win,’’ Clark said. “It’s a good one for us going into the Shelby Valley game.’’
Jesse Clark led off the seventh with a walk to start Raceland’s big inning. She moved to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a two-base error. After Chelsea Loperfido walked and Alex Meade singled to load the bases, another Raceland fielding miscue allowed two runs to cross the plate.
Bree Grubb followed with an RBI single to make it 5-2.
“We just didn’t make the plays when we had to,’’ said Boyd County coach Geoff Stewart. “We had a very good defensive game up to that point.’’
Boyd County (13-10) played errorless ball for six innings. Left-fielder Danielle Rakes made a charging catch in the fourth and threw to first base for a doubleplay. Two innings later, first baseman Catie Wamsley speared a line drive headed down the line.
“Boyd County is a solid team,’’ Jason Clark said. “They have good hitting and defense. It just brought out our best game.’’
Raceland improved to 12-3 with another strong pitching performance from senior Paige Vanhoose, who limited Boyd County to five singles. Two of those came on bunts from Kaitlin Brown and Rakes in the fifth inning, when the Lady Lions manufactured a run to go up 2-1.
“I was glad to see Paige get a win with the University of Dayton’s coach here to watch her,’’ Clark said.
Kala Blevins’ triple in the first inning scored Vanhoose from first base for a 1-0 lead.
“Kala has been unbelievable,’’ Clark said of the power-hitting senior shortstop. “She’s got 15 extra-base hits in 14 games. That big triple in the first inning got us started. She’s been ripping the ball all year.’’
Blevins, who also scored the winning run in the seventh, is just trying to keep things simple at the plate.
“I’m turning my hips and driving the ball,’’ she said. “It seems like when I get a hit, it gets the rest of the team going.’’
Blevins said Clark deserves a large share of credit for the team’s success.
“He’s great for our team,’’ Blevins said of Raceland’s first-year head coach. “We couldn’t do it without coach Clark. He’s enthusiastic and always keeps our heads up.’’
Boyd County scored an unearned run in the third inning took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on Hannah Stewart’s sacrifice fly.
“We’re a work in progress,’’ Geoff Stewart said. “We’re improving. That’s all we want to do.’’

RACELAND 100 000 4 — 5 6 1
BOYD CO. 001 010 0 — 2 5 2
VanHoose and Lewis; Garvin, Caudill (6) and Smith. W—VanHoose. L—Caudill. 2B—Grubb (R), VanHoose (R). 3B—Blevins (R).

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