By TRICIA HILL
It was a bittersweet night for not only Boscobel’s softball team as a whole, but also their six seniors, who ended their season on Tuesday evening after suffering a loss to Lancaster, 7-6 to end their season. The rain played a big part in the first inning, causing Boscobel pitcher Anna Johnson to struggle controlling the wet ball and allowing Lancaster to score three runs to take the lead. However, the Lady Bulldogs rallied back the best they could and never gave up.
“I am really proud of the girls for never giving up even when we were down by five runs, they continued to rally back and fight for the win,” Coach Al Gillingham said. “Outside of the rain in the first and a couple miscues in the fourth, we played really well.”
In the first inning, after Lancaster had scored three runs, Johnson stepped up to bat for Boscobel and was struckout. She was followed by Hailey Bray who was walked to first. Bray was followed by Tayler King, who got a hit and made her way to first, while Bray made her way safely to second base. King was then relieved by base runner Olivia Grassell as Kaylea Davis stepped up to bat. Davis had a base hit to third, which took caused an out on Bray. However, when Lancaster’s third baseman threw the ball to first in an attempt to get Davis out, it allowed Grassell to make her way safely to third. Katie Ritter then stepped up to bat and gave Grassell an opportunity to earn a run for Boscobel, while Ritter suffered an out on first.
The second inning was a strong one for both team’s defense as neither team scored a run. Then Lancaster earned a run off Boscobel in the top of the third, to bring the score to 4-1. Boscobel was unable to score in the bottom of the third. Going into the top of the fourth inning, things started to look bad for Boscobel, as Lancaster stepped up to bat and scored two more runs. However, Boscobel didn’t let it get them down as they stepped up and scored one run, bringing the score to 6-2. The Lady Bulldogs then held off Lancaster in the top of the fifth inning, while they continued on to rally back scoring three runs, and bringing the score to 5-6.
Lancaster and Boscobel’s defenses were on their toes in the sixth inning as neither team scored. Lancaster stepped up to bat in the top of the seventh and scored a run, to leave Boscobel trailing by two runs. The Lady Bulldogs knew they still had a chance, but fell short, scoring one run to end the game, 7-6.
Johnson pitched through seven innings giving up, six hits and recording seven strikeouts. Leading hitters for Boscobel were Tayler King (3x3), Miranda Beinborn (2x3), Anna Johnson (1x1), Sydney Williams (1x3), and Alyssa Davis (1x1).
