FRANKTON — Threerun home runs by Makena Alexander and Amaya Collins powered the Frankton Eagles to a 6-1 senior night victory over Tipton here last Monday.
Alexander was the first to knock the ball out of the park. The senior shortstop’s team-leading eighth home run of the season came with one out in the third inning and after Alivia Swisher singled and Claire Duncan reached on an error.
Collins’ blast also came with one out and plated Alexander, who walked, and Jilly Hilderbrand, who singled.
The Lady Devils scored their run in the top of the sixth. Bella Browning led off with a double and scored on Ashlyn Nasser’s base hit.
Paige Parker pitched the first five innings for the Eagles, allowing just three hits and walking a batter. Duncan pitched the final two innings, giving up an earned run on two hits and striking out three.
Freshman Marissa Shirey was in the circle for the Lady Devils and threw all six innings. She gave up five earned runs on eight hits. She struck out one and walked one.
Hilderbrand led the Frankton offense with a pair of singles. Alexander and Collins had the three-run home runs, and Duncan, Parker, Swisher and Kinley LaPierre had the Eagles’ other four hits.
All five of Tipton’s hits came from the first two batters. Browning doubled and singled twice, while Nasser had two singles and an RBI. Tipton’s only other base runner was Taylor Conaway who was hit by a pitch.
“Overall, I was incredibly pleased with tonight,” Tipton coach Nick Comer said “It was one of our best games defensively, Marissa was stellar in the circle, and we put the ball in play and put pressure on their defense to make plays.
“Frankton is a very good team and we certainly provided a challenge for them that many probably weren’t expecting.”
The game at Frankton was the first of four the Lady Blue Devils played in the final week of the regular season. They lost two by a combined four runs and the third was rained out at Peru on Friday with the Tigers owning a 4-3 lead after 2.5 innings.
Lafayette Jeff 7,
Tipton 6
The Broncos spoiled the Lady Devils’ senior night last Tuesday by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh and then holding on in the bottom half of the inning. Jeff took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second on Evy Pitt’s tworun double and a passed ball. Isabelle Espinoza scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second to get Tipton on the board.
A bunt single drove in a run for Jeff in the top of the third. Conaway’s RBI single and Lia Plake’s RBI double cut the visitors lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Merrell doubled and her courtesy runner, Espinoza, scored on a wild pitch to even the score at 4-all in the bottom of the fifth.
Sayler Teal’s RBI double in the top of the seventh broke the tie. Teal then scored off a line drive that ricocheted off Merrell. Abbigail Strange’s single drove in a third run to put Jeff up 7-4.
The Lady Devils rallied as Merrell stroked a one-out single. One out later, Friend singled and both runners scored on Conaway’s double to right. The game ended on Lia Plake’s groundout to short.
Merrell led Tipton’s 11-hit attack with three hits, including a double. Conaway doubled, singled and drove in three runs, while Friend doubled and singled. Plake had the RBI double with Browning, Abby Phillips and DJ Nantroup adding singles.
Merrell went the distance in the circle. She gave up five earned runs on seven hits. She struck out two and walked one.
Alexandria 5, Tipton 2
The Lady Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of last Thursday’s game at Alexandria. Browning led off the game with a base hit up the middle. She stole second and scored on Merrell’s oneout single to center. Nantroup followed with a bunt that resulted in an error, allowing Merrell to score.
Shirey kept the Tigers off the board until the third inning when they knotted the score at 2-2. Alex broke the tie with a run in the fourth and tacked on two more in the sixth.
Shirey went 5.1 innings, giving up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. She walked three and struck out three. Merrell pitched 2/3s of an inning.
Browning and Merrell each had two hits to lead the Lady Devils’ six-hit attack. Nantroup and Pearson had a base hit each.
