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Led by a complete-game three-hitter from sophomore pitcher Spencer Embler, East put the ball in play and ran away with a convincing 9-0 win. That puts the two teams in a tie for third place in the CCC at 7-4.
“I think we really did need this for our confidence,” said a pleased Golden Eagle coach Greg Fowler. “We have played a lot of close games that we have lost, and sometimes you get to believing that when a game is close, you tend to play not to win instead of playing to lose.
“I felt like we had a lot of enthusiasm and hit the ball well tonight. It was just a good, solid game.”
East hit the ball solidly the entire night, but the earlier innings produced no runs. Finally in the fourth, Embler had something to work with.
With two outs and nobody on, Kristen White coaxed a walk to bring up Anna Freeman. The junior slapped the ball to third for what appeared to be the final out, but Kristin Elmore’s throw was well wide of the bag and scooted down the right field line. That allowed White to round the remaining bases and come in for a 1-0 lead.
East tacked on an insurance run in the sixth with Taylor Vance scoring on a an error at third again, but West gave Embler her first and only serious trouble in the bottom half.
West put runners on second and third with two outs, and had the meat of its order due up. Embler was up to the challenge, fielding a soft grounder back at the mound that she tossed to first that thwarted the rally.
“Spencer hit her spots real well and made her pitches when she had to,” said Fowler. “She stayed ahead and that makes such a difference with her.”
West had a complete collapse in the seventh with a couple costly errors and some miscommunication in the infield. Seven runs went up on the board, with Embler helping her own cause with a double down the third base line that drove in two.
WDHS went down quietly in the seventh to end the game.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is the regular-season finale against rival Ledford. LHS won the first meeting 1-0, but East will have a little more to play for in securing the third spot for the tournament.
“Ledford has got a great team,” said Fowler. “When Ledford and East play I don’t care what the records are. We have something to play for and we want to win.”
Embler broke out of a slump at the plate with three hits to lead East.
In the junior varsity game, the Golden Eagles picked up a 13-5 win in improving to 7-9.
Kelsey Long was the winning pitcher with 10 strikeouts. Taylor Alexander was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored, Kayle Lilly also had three hits with four RBI, Jessica Esquivel and Paige Byrd added three hits apiece and an RBI, while Caroline Fowler had two hits and Brooke Bame had two hits and three RBI.
Sports Editor Zach Kepley can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 234, or at kepley@tvilletimes.com.