Lady Blues walk off with warm up game win

Lady Blues walk off with warm up game win News Staff Fri, 04/26/2024 - 8:35 am

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham senior Meagan Brooks swings and connects with a pitch for a hit during the team’s playoff warm-up game against Breckenridge this past Monday, April 22. The Lady Blues won 3-2 on a walk-off hit.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Larissa Warren reaches third base and rounds it to head home after one of her teammates got a hit. The Lady Blues beat Breckenridge 3-2 in a playoff warm-up game Monday, April 22.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham first baseman Peyton Dobbs stretches to catch the ball for an out while her teammates celebrate as they move towards the win. The Lady Blues defeated Breckenridge 3-2 on a walk-off hit in their playoff warm-up game Monday, April 22.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Senior Reese Calhoun swings and connects with a pitch for a hit during Graham’s playoff warm-up game Monday, April 22 against Breckenridge. Calhoun had the game-winning hit on a double to give her team a 3-2 win.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham third baseman Emily Lawson makes an easy catch on a pop fly during the team’s 3-2 win over Breckenridge in a playoff warm-up game Monday, April 22.

TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com

It was a battle of two teams at the top of their divisions. Two district winners. Graham and Breckenridge.

The Lady Blues welcomed the Lady Buckaroos to town for a warm up game before the playoffs start for both teams this week. The two teams battled, giving each other their best and creating a playoff-like atmosphere, in which Graham walked off with a 3-2 win in the final inning.

Although the game had no effect on any records or standings, both sides clearly treated it like an important game. Both teams put their best pitcher in the circle and each one pitched the entire game.

For Graham, starter Reese Calhoun led the way as she pitched all seven innings, gave up three hits, two runs (one earned), walked six batters and struck out eight. On the flip side for Breckenridge, Chloe Whitmire went 6 1/3 innings, allowed three earned runs on six hits, walked four batters and struck out 10.

Heading into the final inning, the two teams were tied at 2-2. Each side had scored their two runs in a single inning—Graham in the third and Breckenridge in the fourth—and it was going to come down to the final at bats.

The visiting Lady Bucks loaded the bases in the top half of the seventh inning on a series of walks. Breckenridge’s Olyvia Perez came to the plate and worked a 2-2 count off Graham pitcher Calhoun. But Calhoun released a fastball and Perez swung through it for the third out of the inning and the game still tied.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Lady Blues wasted no time doing damage. Kathryn Hughes led off the inning with a hard single to right field and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt from Olga Morales.

Calhoun came to the plate looking for a way to end the game. She swung at the first pitch she got from Whitmire and drove a double over the left fielder’s head to bring Hughes around for the game-winning run to make it 3-2.

“We came out, didn’t have any errors and (Breckenridge has) a heck of a pitcher over there in the circle and we struggled early against her. But we’ve just got to keep our confidence up and I thought we battled and had some good at bats,” Graham head coach Adam Arrington said.

The entire game leading up to that final inning was a pitcher’s duel. Through the first two innings, neither side managed to get more than a runner or two on base. But in the bottom of the third inning, Graham broke through first.

Hughes and Morales led off the inning with back-to-back bunt singles, but Calhoun then bunted into a fielder’s choice for the first out. Whitmire struck out Graham’s Meagan Brooks for the second out and nearly escaped the inning. But a big double to left field from the Lady Blues’ Emily Lawson brought in two runs for a 2-0 Graham lead.

It didn’t take long, however, for Breckenridge to respond. In the top half of the fourth inning, the Lady Buckaroos tied the game up with two runs of their own. Raegan Robinson hit a single to left field, Whitmire walked and both runners advanced to second and third base on a passed ball.

With two outs, Carlee Stewart singled to left field to score both runners and she ended up getting to third base on the throw.

The game was tied at 2-2 before Calhoun got Ryleigh Cowan to pop out to end the threat.

The two sides remained tied until the late-game fireworks from Graham helped them seal the win in the duel between the two first-place teams.

“We’ve talked about manufacturing runs, get a base hit, move the runner, find a way to score and it worked. So all around it was a pretty good day for us offensively and defensively and Reese (Calhoun) was strong in the circle… It was a good day for us.”

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