Whiteoak earns county rivalry win over Lady Tigers

It was a blustery night for the McClain Lady Tigers’ home opener against non-conference and Highland County foe Whiteoak, but despite the chilly weather, both teams played surprisingly well, with the visitors from Whiteoak picking up the hard-earned win, 8-5.

Senior hurler Bri Hill went the distance on the mound to get the win, while senior starting pitcher Gracey Bowers and reliever Kenzie Wise also pitched well for McClain.

“Bri Hill gave us seven strong innings on the mound today and battled the whole game,” Whiteoak head coach Jeremy Parr said “She went the distance and went deeper into the game than I wanted her to, but she really did deserve to win this game.”

Whiteoak scored a run in the top of the first inning on a long home run by Jaylie Parr.

McClain answered in the bottom of the first inning by scoring three runs on just two hits with the big blow coming off the bat of Leah Lovett, a two-run double scoring Lindsey Hutchinson, who had doubled, and Brie Cummins and Olivia Stegbauer, both of whom drew walks.  

With the Lady Tigers leading 3-1 after one inning, the Lady Wildcats edged closer in the top of the second. Elly McMullen singled with one out and came around to score on a double and scored on a single by Kylee Hamm.

McClain took back the lead in the bottom of the third when Stegbauer singled and stole second and came around to score on an RBI single by Kenzie Wise.  The Lady Tigers continued to hold the slim 4-3 lead until the top of the fifth inning when Whiteoak drew even again when Molly McMullen hit a home run to straight-away centerfield.

The Lady Wildcats could have done more damage in the inning, but Bowers was able to pitch out of a jam, stranding two Lady Wildcat runners on second and third.

In the top of the fifth, McClainre-captured the advantage at 5-4 when Stegbauer reached base on an error, then promptly stole second and third base and later scored on a fielder’s choice RBI by Allie Flowers.

Hill this time was the pitcher who got out of the huge hole when she struck out a Lady Tiger pitch-hitter with the bases loaded, avoiding a McClain big-inning possibility. The sixth inning proved to be the difference in the ballgame when Whiteoak scored three runs on two hits, with Parr and Hill both having doubles in the rally.

The Lady Wildcats added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and held on for the 8-5 win, improving their record to 2-0 on the season.

“I think my girls played pretty well tonight and never gave up, even after falling behind twice during the game,” said Parr. “I’m really happy to start the season off with two tough non-league wins on the road against a couple of quality opponents. Anytime you can win on the road, it’s great.

“Offensively, I can’t really single anyone out because I thought all of our girls hit the ball hard and put the ball in play.”

Despite losing another tough and close non-league game McClain’s first-year head coach Molly Stegbauer still had a lot of praise for her team.

“I think my girls had their bats out today so I can’t fault our hitting,” Stegbauer said. “We’ve hit the ball well in all of our games so far, but today we just couldn’t find gaps.

“We know we have a lot of things to work on, but the main thing about this team so far this season is that they are all improving every day and doing a lot of good things and making some great plays.”

“We’ve had to make a few adjustments in our lineup due mainly to the fact that we’re without our starting senior third baseman Harley Peabody, so we have some kids that are playing some places they’re not used to playing, and that has hurt us a little bit,” Stegbauer continued. “We missed some scoring opportunities today, but overall I was still pleased with our effort, and I know we’re going to get where we want to be.”

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