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At the Four-front: Wild inning leads East past Carroll in bi-district series opener
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Plano East didn't tear the cover off the ball Friday in Game 1 of its best-of-3 bi-district softball series against Southlake Carroll.
It didn't have to.
Instead, the Lady Panthers relied on timely hitting and capitalized on Lady Dragons' miscues to pick up a 9-6 victory.
The game, and the Lady Dragons, gave East plenty in the fourth inning.
Trailing, 4-1, the Lady Panthers scored seven runs in that frame to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"It was a crazy inning," said Ashleigh Hinshaw, East junior.
That would be a good way to describe a frame in which the Lady Panthers got only four hits off Carroll sophomore pitcher Alex Schneider, but the Lady Dragons also had four walks, four wild pitches, one passed ball and an error.
"We had a chance at a double-play ball and then another opportunity after that and none of that would have happened," said Tim Stuewe, Carroll head coach. "We've got to finish innings like that out."
East had a runner on, but also faced two outs after a stellar defensive play from senior Courtney Bellamy, her second of the night. Hinshaw was up next and she hit an RBI infield single, the first of eight straight Lady Panthers to reach base. Runs were also knocked in by sophomore Haley Wisdom, senior Rachel Scott, senior Holly Kern and junior KK Stevens, who had started the inning.
"We were all getting this adrenaline rush," Hinshaw said. "At that point, I think we had all the confidence in the world."
The fourth inning gave East an 8-4 lead with all seven runs coming with two outs.
"I got on to the girls about putting the ball in play and not leaving runners on," Kalhoefer said. "We have some girls that have never been in the playoffs before and nerves might have been a factor, but credit to these girls for fighting back. I told them to just be us and play the way we play; they were able to calm down and answer the challenge."
The fourth gave East momentum in a game that was controlled by Carroll early.
"East has a lot of accolades and they are well deserved," Stuewe said, "but our girls came out ready to play."
The Lady Panthers scored first with an RBI single from junior Jacque Anthony in the bottom of the second, but Carroll responded with a four-spot in the third. The Lady Dragons used a walk, two-base error and hit by pitch to load the bases before sophomore Lauren Heintzelman put her team on the board with a two-RBI single. Carroll scored additional runs, for a 4-1 lead, on a passed ball and RBI single from sophomore Alexa Wimberly.
"We can swing the sticks," Stuewe said. "That's something we've done well all season."
After losing its lead in the fourth, Carroll wouldn't get closer than three runs the rest of the way despite RBIs from Schneider and sophomore Jaqui Lehane in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Schneider was the lone player in the game to register three hits with Wimberly and senior Sarah Littlehale adding two apiece for the Lady Dragons.
East added another run in the sixth courtesy of Hinshaw. Hinshaw was one of three East players, along with Stevens and Anthony, to have multiple hits in the 9-6 victory.
"I think we got a good look at how [Schneider] throws today," Hinshaw said, "and now we know how to get pressure on her."
Friday's win gave East a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series.
"Getting that first one is huge," Hinshaw said, "because the team that gets Game 1 has all the confidence."
But Carroll maintained some confidence too heading into Saturday's Game 2 (results not available at press time) with the series shifting back to Southlake.
"This result is a shame because we did too many good things tonight to lose," Stuewe said. "Now we just have to go home and regroup for tomorrow."
Game 3, if necessary, is set for 7 p.m. Monday at Coppell.
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