Rams get rolling: Raceland records seven late runs to defeat Kittens

Mar. 23—RACELAND — To borrow a line from T.S. Elliot, between the fifth and sixth inning, the shadow fell on Ashland.

It was an explosive performance in the bottom of the fifth from Raceland that turned out the lights for the Kittens in a 10-3 win.

"Davanna (Grubb) was really hitting her spots tonight," Raceland coach Destiny Goins said of her pitcher, who threw the whole game. "She was forcing a lot of ground balls and we played pretty good defense. We had a few errors, but we came out in that fifth inning and scored a lot of runs. That's all you have to do."

Raceland brought 12 batters to the plate in the fifth frame, racking up seven runs to put the game out of reach.

"It was too many extra bases and too many free bases," Ashland coach Scott Ingram said. "They're a good team that capitalized on those freebies, which led to that big inning."

It was the Kittens who got the offense rolling early.

In the top of the first, a double from Jada Erwin brought a run in, but Erwin got caught in a rundown as part of a double play which helped Raceland keep the initial damage to just one run.

Ashland walked a run in at the bottom of the first to allow the Rams to pull even at 1-1.

After a defensive-minded second and third inning, a pair of doubles from Erin Patrick and Alauna Troxler in the top of the fourth frame hung another run for the Kittens.

"At some point, it's not going to be early, but right now, it's still early," Ingram said of his team still trying to find its rhythm. "We're trying to find something out every game. There was some stuff tonight that I really liked. But at the end of the day, you're not going to beat a team after giving them that many opportunities."

Raceland responded in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double from Bryna Wellman that blasted against the left-field wall.

The Rams got another runner home with a sacrifice fly from Baylee Burney, putting the score at 3-2 in favor of Raceland.

Raceland got out of the top of the fifth with a 1-2-3 inning thanks in part to the glove of Burney in center field, who had several key snags on the night.

"Bayle played great," Goins said. "I couldn't ask any more from her. I think she's one of the best center fielders in our region and she's going to continue to do well."

In Raceland's pivotal fifth inning at-bats, the seven runs came off the sticks of Burney, Grubb, Makena Francis, and Kaitlin Kartchner.

"I think it was them finally getting their pitch," Goins said of the fifth-inning surge. "We had a few kids be more selective at the plate and we just strung it together."

Down 10-2, Ashland managed to get one back in the sixth inning courtesy of an RBI single from Troxler, but that was all the Kittens could muster.

Ashland (1-5) will try to get on track Monday as it hosts Spring Valley.

When asked what he hopes to see from his team in the matchup, Ingram said he was looking to shore up the errors.

"Less free stuff," Ingram said. "Less free bases, less extra bases. We give up too many of those. And Spring Valley will be a team that capitalizes on that as well."

Raceland (2-2) will travel to Hamlin, West Virginia, to play Lincoln County, weather permitting.

"I'm looking forward to going up there and playing a really good ball club," Goins said of the matchup. "We need to play really good defense and we need to be really set at the plate. I'm looking forward to going there and playing talent from outside of this area."

ASHLAND 100 101 0 — 3 8 3

RACELAND 100 270 X — 10 7 2

Erwin, Laine (5) and Patrick; Grub and Vance. W — Grubb. L — Erwin. 2B Erwin (A) Patrick (A) Troxler (A) Wellman (R).