Lake softball coach Jake Loper has preached to his players all season about being resilient.
After an 8-1 loss in game 2 against Pisgah to even the Class 2A South State series, the Lady Hornets showed Loper what he has been preaching about all season.
The Lady Hornets got a big game at the plate from Gracie McKee who drove in five runs while Kate Gladney struck out seven to give Lake an 8-5 win on Monday night.
Lake improves to 27-10 on the season and will take on East Webster on Wednesday at 1 p.m. as they try to repeat as Class 2A champions. Game 2 will be Friday at 3 p.m. with an if-necessary game on Saturday at a time to be determined. The series will be held at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Monday night’s game followed script for the series as the team that was able to score some runs early took the win. Lake was the team that struck first as Brantlee McGee led off with a double and Abbie McGee walked. Gracie McKee singled to score two runs as Lake took a 2-0 lead.
“Yeah, the team that scored early found a way to win,” Loper said. “I thought the first inning was big. We got a two-run single from Gracie McKee to take an early lead. Then they two runners on in the bottom of the first, and we managed to get out of it without giving up a run. I thought that was big and set the tone for the game.”
In the second, Lake took advantage of back-to-back errors with two outs as Gladney singled to center to score Lyric Lay to make the score 3-0.
Lake added two more runs in the third inning as McKee against singled to score two runs and give the Lady Hornets a 5-0 lead.
“Gracie made a couple of errors yesterday (Sunday), but she came back today and had a big game and I was proud of that,” Loper said. “We preach, whatever happens, we have to be able to respond in the right way and she did that. This whole year, nothing has really gone our way. We have a lot of injuries and had some key players quit. We have had some young girls step up and make some big plays. It’s really just been the next player up.”
Lake continued to extend the lead in the fourth when Brantlee McGee led off by getting hit by a pitch. After Gladney walked, Pisgah got two outs before McKee singled to score McGee while Gladney came home on an error. Katlyn Lott then singled to score McKee and Lake led 8-0.
Pisgah scored two runs in the fifth and three in the seventh for the final margin of 8-5.
Lake outhit Pisgah 11-7 in the contest. McKee was 3-for-4 with five RBIs while Brantlee McGee was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Abbie McGee and Katlyn Lott were each 2-for-3 while Sadie Thompson doubled and scored a run. Kinsley Woods also scored two runs as well for Lake.
Gladney pitched all seven innings for Lake, going the distance to pick up the win. Gladney gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four.
“I thought Kate really bounced back and shoved tonight,” Loper said. “She has been big for us over the season and has more than 200 strikeouts and has been huge for us. Yesterday, the strike zone was really tight. We couldn’t walk anybody and I thought they did a good job of taking advantage of balls in the zone with runners on base. I thought we worked ahead today and that was the difference. I think they barreled up two balls today. She struck out seven and I was happy with the way we played today.”
Pisgah 8, Lake 1
The Lady Hornets fell behind early and couldn’t come back as they dropped a seven-run decision as the Lady Dragons forced a game 3.
Pisgah scored four runs in the top of the first and two in the second to lead 6-0. Lake answered with its lone run in the second while Pisgah added one in the third and sixth innings.
Pisgah outhit Lake 12-7 in the contest. Sadie Thompson had a solo home run, her first of the season, for Lake while Brantlee McGee, Kate Gladney, Gracie McKee, Katlyn Lott, Adyson McKnight and Lyric Lay each had singles.
Gladney started on the mound for Lake and gave up a seven runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out two. Alaina Alford pitched the last four innings and gave up one run on three hits while striking out two.
Lake 7, Pisgah 1
The Lady Hornets jumped out to an early lead and took a six-run win over the Lady Dragons on Saturday.
Lake scored two runs in the first and second innings and led 4-0. Pisgah scored one in the fourth while Lake finished with two in the sixth and one in the seventh.
Lake outhit Pisgah 8-4 in the contest. Gracie McKee was 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Kate Gladney singled, walked twice and drove in two runs. Brantlee McGee, Sadie Thompson, Katlyn Lott and Lyric Lay each singled and scored.
Gladney pitched all seven innings and gave up one earned run while scattered four hits and three walks. She also struck out three in the complete game effort.
