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Baker pounds Freeport in district clash (PHOTO GALLERY)
BAKER — Lauren Griffith and Macie Wilde teamed up to throw a combined three-hitter as Baker beat Freeport 10-0 in District 1-2A softball play Thursday.
Griffith did the majority of the work, going five innings and striking out five Bulldog batters while allowing just two hits. Wilde, a lefty, worked the sixth inning, striking out one and allowing a hit.
The game was called in the bottom of the sixth on the 10-run rule.
Click to view a photo gallery from the game »
In the early part of the game, Freeport (2-7, 2-4) pitcher Rani Simmons looked like she would be able to keep up with Griffith in the circle. Simmons allowed only one hit in the first two innings, but things changed quickly in the third as Baker (8-3, 4-1) took charge.
Dani Mayhair led of the inning with a line drive through the box that nailed Simmons in her right shin. Mayhair’s drive seemed to spark the Gators, as they sent nine batters to the plate and scored five times to take control of things.
Griffith had the big hit of the inning, helping her own cause with a two-run double that scored Mayhair and Christine Wells, who had reached on an infield hit.
Brittney Kilpatrick and Tuesdae Middlebrooks also had RBI hits in the inning.
“This game is really special because we wanted to win it for coach (John) Carlisle,” Kilpatrick said.
Carlisle has been serving a three-game suspension this week after a Baker player removed her batting helmet before entering the Gator dugout after making an out last week at Northview.
Baker added a run in the fourth inning, as Dani Marelli led off with a base hit and eventually scored on a Mollie Royal single. Middlebrooks, who finished with three hits, sparked a two-out Gator rally in the fifth that led to three more runs.
“We have this habit, and we’ve had it all year, of giving up big innings after they have two outs,” Bulldog coach Charles Trotman said. “They scored three runs in the fifth inning after we got the first two batters out and we can’t do that.”
It also was Middlebrooks that ended the game with a single to right-centerfield to score Kilpatrick in the sixth.
“It really felt good out there because I haven’t been hitting well lately,” Middlebrooks said. “It was important (for the Gators to hit well) because it gives us motivation and confidence."
