DEFENSIVE BATTLE ENDS WITH LADY GOBLINS LEADING VALLEY SPRINGS

A Harrison vs. Valley Springs game at Cavender’s Field went down to the wire on Thursday afternoon.
The softball contest paired the two local teams and one run decided the fate of the game as the Lady Goblins earned a 1-0 win against the Lady Tigers.
At the midway point in the fifth inning, each team had recorded three hits and neither squad had been able to transition those runners across home plate.
For Harrison, Kayton Bell and Daizie Riggs each recorded a hit in the opening inning. Abigail Fancler pushed a hit to right-center field and then went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kaylee Wolfe but the early innings ended with fly outs.
Valley Springs had early doubles from both Aidan Gorton and Tinley Williams before Maura Moore had a two-out hit to left field in the fifth.
With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Harrison went to work when Fancler tallied her second hit of the game. Fancler smashed a shot to the center-field wall for a standup double that got the crowd motivated as well as her team.
Wolfe then hit a grounder that advanced Fancler to third but created the first out. Ryleigh Keele then laid a bunt down the third-base line. Valley Springs was forced to keep Fancler at third while Keele reached first successfully.
Bell then secured the only RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field that sent Fancler home to give Harrison the 1-0 lead. Katie Fleming was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base but the inning ended on a strikeout.
Claire Cecil then took over duties in the circle for the Lady Goblins and retired six-straight batters to end the game.
Keele earned the shutout win on the mound for Harrison. She pitched 5.0 innings allowing three hits and struck out eight batters with no walks. Cecil threw 2.0 innings with one strikeout in the save.
Fancler scored the lone run along with two hits for Harrison. Bell, Riggs and Cecil each recorded a hit.
Moore took the loss for Valley Springs in the circle allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts.
Gorton, Moore and Williams each had a hit in the contest for the Lady Tigers.