The Lady Raiders were able to fend off a late comeback effort from Grayson County on Friday, hanging on for a 10-7 victory in their regular season district opener on the road.
Trinity (Whitesville) struck first, as a leadoff error and double by sophomore Sarah Payne was followed by a two-run double from senior Abby Payne. Shortly after senior Allie Graham delivered a sacrifice fly, taking a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
In the top of the third the Lady Raiders took advantage of two more errors, while grabbing a single and a double in the process to score three more runs. The Lady Cougars responded swiftly though, finally getting on the board with a pair of RBI doubles to make it 6-2 heading into the fourth.
Trinity (Whitesville) had Grayson County’s number though, grabbing two more runs in each of the following innings to take a 10-2 lead after five. The Lady Cougars weren’t bowing out though, as an error led to a triple for senior Shelby Davis and another error occurred during the next at-bat to cut the deficit to 10-4 with no outs.
A single then put runners on first and second, but senior Allie Barnett was able to get two consecutive outs. However, another error loaded the bases, setting up Grayson County for back-to-back RBI singles to make it a 10-7 game with two down and runners in scoring position.
But seventh grader Sophie Hatfield was called to the circle in a big moment, getting a groundout to stop the bleeding and seal the deal on a 10-7 win and start the year undefeated in district play. Barnett tossed the first six and two-third innings, allowing three earned runs—seven total—on 11 hits while walking three and striking out two.
Abby Payne led the way at the plate with three RBIs on a 4-5 day, while Barnett went 3-4 and had two RBIs, senior Allie Graham followed with two as well while Hatfield and eighth grader Emma Whitehouse had one each. The Lady Raiders move to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play to start the season, getting right back to action on Saturday with a noon game against Franklin-Simpson at home.
