With the winds picking up and the sun hiding away in the clouds last night, sophomore clean-up hitter Hayli Phoenix stepped up to the plate at Holder Field with the song “Blue Suede Shoes” by Elvis Presley playing behind her.
Phoenix laid off the first pitch, a ball. But the next pitch, she crushed straight over the center field wall, hitting not only her first home run ever but also the game-ending walk-off, giving the Cards a five-inning win, 12-2, over Warren Central.
“I’m excited. I did not think it was going over at all … ,” Phoenix said. “I’m really relieved that I finally hit one.”
The Cards started the night off quickly. Getting three quick outs at the top of the first, everyone had a chance to hit. They went through the entire batting lineup and scored three runs after the first inning.
In the second inning, both teams were scoreless, contributing to the fact that the Lady Cards’ defense was lights out all night, having zero errors.
Along with defense holding it down, freshman pitcher Emma Jordan was a key contributor to the win. Against 19 batters, she struck out three batters and only allowed three hits during the evening.
“We had a lot of young players step up. (We had) a freshman on the mound. (Jordan) got her first start of the year,” head coach James Thorpe said. “After some jitters in the second inning, she really settled into her own.”
As the bottom of the fourth inning began, the bats of the Lady Cards began to heat up. They got started after sophomore Ava Thorpe hit an RBI double, scoring lead-off batter sophomore Lindsey Vaught.
The Lady Cards then proceeded to score four more runs after Ava’s double, giving them a comfortable lead of 10-2 at the end of the fourth inning.
“I think (the hit) helped get the inning going and improved everyone in the rest of the game … ,” Ava said. “I feel that once something gets going, it continues with our team. Our confidence truly rubs off of each other.”
At the top of the fifth inning, Jordan didn’t allow any runs to be scored, putting the Lady Cards offense in a position to end the game with a run rule.
Phoenix’s home run would do just that.
Phoenix wasn’t the only hitter on fire. As a team, they tallied up nine hits and nine RBIs with a batting average of .375 on the night.
After a controlling win, the Lady Cards were able to bounce back from a tough loss against Franklin Community 11-4 on Saturday, April 12.
This win also pointed them in the right direction for their first conference game tomorrow, Tuesday, April 15, versus Bloomington South.
“The Franklin Community game taught us about kind of being punched in the face and how we are gonna react … ,” Thorpe said. “I would say it was a good win today to come back and be ready for our first conference game tomorrow.”
