What started as a blowout turned into a barnburner in the Park Department Senior League championship.
Poplar Bluff Realty scored the first 12 runs and then had to weather an incredible comeback by Southern Bank before winning 19-11 in five innings Tuesday at McLane Park.
“The girls showed a bunch of grit in coming back,” Poplar Bluff Realty coach Ricky Coggins said. “Anybody can get rattled there and give a game away. They showed heart, came back, and fought like warriors.”
Each team had an inning where they scored seven maximum runs per inning. There were three total inside-the-park home runs and 27 total stolen bases.
Molly Eason pitched in the win for Poplar Bluff Realty (10-1). Through 2 2/3 innings, she had six strikeouts with 12 hits, three walks and a hit batter.
Eason, batting third in the lineup, also went 2 for 2 at the plate with three runs, two RBIs and a team-high four stolen bases.
After pitching part of the semifinals earlier in the evening, Eason allowed one hit through two innings. Two runners had reached base, and nobody had gotten to third. But she started to get tired in the third inning as Southern Bank scored seven runs.
“I think I got more inaccurate when they started hitting more,” Eason said.
Allie Johnson singled to start the inning and Kiersten Crutchfield, who finished with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, got Southern Bank on the board with a hard line drive to the fence in left field for an in-the-park home run.
Southern Bank (7-5), which lost four of its first five games to start the season, continued to roll through the lineup until Johnson was back at the plate for her second at-bat. Her grounder to right field got past the outfield for a three-run home run, but because of the seven runs per inning limit, only the first run counted, leaving Southern Bank trailing 12-7.
“I was proud of how they responded. They had the opportunity to fold up and quit and they didn’t. I’m so proud of all of them for being able to come back and make this a game,” Southern Bank coach Jerry Foster said. “Their hitting has improved immensely over the past couple of weeks. Really proud of them.”
After a difficult first two innings, Southern Bank pitcher Lily Foster struck out the side in the bottom of the third to keep the momentum going.
Mailayne Willis had a three-run triple in the top of the fourth and scored on a wild pitch to get Southern Bank within a run. After Nichole Clark singled up the middle with one out, Poplar Bluff Realty made a pitching change and swapped Eason with shortstop Liz Blancett.
Blancett got out of the inning with two strikeouts and allowed one hit and one walk with five strikeouts to finish the game.
“I was just trying to stay calm and get out of the inning,” Blancett said.
Poplar Bluff Realty drew three walks and a hit batter while scoring six runs in the bottom of the fourth to rebuild its lead. Emma Brown drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and scored the game-ending run when Blancett was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Tylar Brookerson had a two-run home run in the first inning for Poplar Bluff Realty and finished with three RBIs. Brookerson, Rachel Eason, Molly Eason, and Nicole Akers all finished with two hits.
“We hit the ball well tonight. We took walks when we could take them and hit them when we got a pitch to hit,” Coggins said.
Foster, Clark, and Allie Johnson each had two hits for Southern Bank. Foster pitched in the loss. She threw 2 2/3 innings and six strikeouts with eight hits and 12 walks. Elli Lewis pitched one inning and allowed three walks and a hit with no strikeouts.