Columbus East had two outs with Becca Carter on third base when Kamryn Cantu stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning of a tie game in the second game of a doubleheader with Greensburg.
Cantu hadn’t been on base all game and was looking to redeem her previous two at bats by hitting the most important ball of the day. Cantu took a swing, popping it high in the air for what looked like the third out, but a drop by the Pirates made it a foul ball, giving Cantu another try.
One more swing was all Cantu needed to give the Olympians their sixth win of the season. She lined an RBI-single to give the Olympians a 2-1 victory.
“When somebody gives you an extra out in an inning, you have to make them pay for it,” East coach Rusty Brummett said. “Cantu did that. Kamryn came right back and put the ball in play. It wasn’t the hardest hit ball all day, but it did its job.”
The Pirates (0-4) got an early run in the first inning, but East pitcher Brooke Valles allowed only four hits the rest of the game. Greensburg still had a one-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh until Valles’ RBI-sacrifice fly tied the game. A dropped ball at first base allowed Carter to get on base to set up Cantu’s game-winning RBI.
Jordan Johnston went 3 for 3 in the second game. She also had an RBI-triple in the first game.
Brummett said his team played much better in Saturday’s morning game than it did in Friday’s 12-4 loss to Brown County.
“We looked like we knew what we were doing, Brummett said.”
The Olympians (6-2) got off to a slow start against Brown County, but started the first game of the Greensburg doubleheader by scoring four runs in the first two innings. The Pirates rallied back to score three runs in the third to close the East lead to one. But a two run sixth helped the Olympians seal the 6-3 win.
Madyson Foster went 2 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs in the opener. Kendra Pastrick also had a two-run triple in her only at bat in the first game.
Cantu said by winning the two games, East has proved to itself that it can bounce back after making mistakes like it did against Brown County.
“Any other year, we would have probably just started going on a losing streak,” Cantu said. “But this tested us mentally.”
