Lady Cougar Stop Salem

Lady Cougars Stop Salem
By David Gravely

When you are trying to build your program up, you have to take it one step at a time. Pulaski County took a big step in the right direction and in the River Ridge District race Tuesday night, as they defeated Salem on the road by a final score of 5-3.

"I don't think some people believed in us" said Head Coach Gina Miano. "We've told our girls to believe in themselves since day one, and we know they can compete with anyone. This was the first time we've beaten Salem in a while, and we did it on the road. Tonight was one of those wins we really needed, and I'm really proud of the way the girls played."

Salem got into scoring position in the first inning, but a big play ended that effort. With bases loaded and one out, a Salem player hit the ball to third base, where Bethany Anderson quickly scooped it and threw home for the force out. Catcher Jordan Chrisley tagged home and immediately gunned the ball to first for the third out, ending the Lady Spartans attack.

That wasn't the first or the last time the Lady Spartans would threaten, however, as they were able to load the bases in six out of the seven innings. Strong, fundamental defensive play by Pulaski denied the Lady Spartans the runs throughout the contest. Salem took the lead in the third inning, but Pulaski was able to hold it to 1-0 off of three Salem hits and a walk, even though the first of those hits was a triple.

Pulaski was able to take the lead in the fourth inning. Carli Brewer got things started off with a single, and then she moved to second base due to an error by the first base player. Kasey Holcomb then hit a hard shot up the middle for an RBI single, scoring Brewer and tying the score. Holcomb moved to second base on a wild pitch, and then stole third. Anderson earned a walk and then stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Designated player Tiffany "Chef" Alley stepped into the box next, and with two strikes and no balls hit an RBI single to score Holcomb and give Pulaski the lead. With Anderson on third and Alley on first, Brooke Hundley hit an RBI single to advance Alley and score Anderson to make it 3-1. Katie Hurst was sent in to run for Alley, and then Sara Wright hit a hard double to left center field for two RBI's, moving the score to 5-1.

The Lady Spartans kept the pressure on, and in the bottom of the seventh inning were able to add two runs off of two hits, a walk, and an error before Pulaski was able to shut them down to end the game at 5-3. The Lady Cougars ended the game with seven hits and only one error, Salem finished with nine hits and two errors.

Kaitlin Smith gets the win on the mound for Pulaski, going all seven innings. In that time she faced 37 batters, allowing 3 runs, 9 hits, 8 walks, and one strike out. Hitting the ball for Pulaski, Carli Brewer went 1 for 4 with a run scored, and Hundley went 1 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI. Kasey Holcomb went 1 for 4 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base. Anderson was 0 for 2, but stole a base and scored a run after earning her walk. Alley was 1 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI. Kelli Duncan was 1 for 2 with a sacrifice and a steal, but her one hit was a triple. Sara Wright finished the contest 2 for 3 with two RBI's and 2 doubles.

While it wasn't a big night for her with the bat, catcher Jordan Chrisley had a big night behind the plate with no passed balls, holding helping hold the Lady Spartans scoring opportunities in check.

"We knew the girls were wide open on the bus going down, so we had a good feeling about things" said Miano. "It seemed like everybody did their jobs tonight. Our outfielders all made big catches, our DP Tiffany Alley played tough, Jordan played solid behind the plate, and the girls were backing each other up all night. The one error we had is a tough one to call an error, because it was just a hard hit ball that we almost got. The effort was there to get it, but it was just out of reach. Everybody contributed today, and that's how we have to play every game. This was big for us, but tomorrow we have to be 1% better."

The Lady Cougar go back into action on Friday as they travel to Christiansburg. The game location has been moved to the Kiwanis Field. Start time for the contest is set for 5 pm