The Princeton Lady Tigers, on the strength of an eight-run fourth inning, had just enough firepower to hold off a hard-charging Gallatin Lady Bulldog team late, winning 12-11 on Wednesday night in softball action broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
Lauren Krohn got the Princeton offense off and running early, bashing a pair of solo home runs over the first two innings, with a two run single by Jasmine Allen giving the Lady Tigers a 3-run lead. Presley Wells tripled for Gallatin to lead off the bottom of the first, later scoring on a passed ball. Gallatin surged in the third, scoring four runs as Krohn, battling a nagging sprained ankle, was removed from the pitchers circle in favor of Megan Spencer, who went the final five innings for the Tigers. In the Gallatin 3rd, the Lady Bulldogs batted nine, had a two-run home run by Caragan Baker, and a two-run double by AnnaBelle Ball.
In the decisive fourth inning for Princeton, the Lady Tigers sent 13 batters to the plate. Spencer, Dunkin, Kelly, and Alison Allen all had singles, with Jasmine Allen adding a double, an Carsey Brown a triple in the rally. Two batters were hit by pitches, and Gallatin committed two errors.
Up 12-5 heading into the sixth inning, the game looked more probable to end by the 10 run-rule than to be a nail-biter, but Gallatin had ideas of a rally. The Lady Bulldogs got a second two-run blast by Baker in the sixth inning to slice the lead to 12-7. The seventh got very tight for Princeton, as the Lady Tigers gave up a two-run home run to Maddi Michael, with Ashley Feiden, Caragan Baker, and Betty Rogers piecing together three straight singles, cutting the lead to 12-11. With Rogers holding the tying run at second, a strikeout ended the game.
Princeton moves to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in the GRC with the win, as Gallatin slumps to 3-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play. In the GRC’s crossover games on Thursday night, Princeton plays at Worth County, with Gallatin traveling to Pattonsburg.
Other scores from Wednesday, September 30, 2020 were:
North Andrew 15, Bishop LeBlond 4
Brashear 3, Milan 2
King City 6, Worth County 3
Albany 9, Maysville 8