(Oakland, IA) – There was no other softball game in the southwest Iowa region that compared to the final matchup between Riverside and #12 Griswold on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs were able to come back in the seventh inning after being down 5-3 and were able to rally for their 6-5 final win of the regular season.
The game all started in Riverside’s favor in the first inning of action. After Bulldog pitcher Peyton Schafer pitched a three-up-three down inning, it came to the bottom of the first for the Bulldogs. After two flyouts, Madison Kelley came up to the place and launched a home run over the left field wall to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 headed into the second. That lead wouldn’t last long when they hit the top of the second and Griswold’s Whitney Pennock walked to put a runner on first and eventually two outs for Carsyn Adams. The right fielder was able to punch out a single to score Pennock and earn an RBI to tie the game at 1-1. After the hit by Carsyn Adams, Josie Reynolds earned a hit of her own with a single to earn an RBI and score Adams to take a 2-1 lead.
Riverside couldn’t make any contact with the ball in the bottom of the second and it came to the top of the third inning. Griswold would look to solidify their lead even further after going on a two-out rally that started with Millikan reaching on an error and Pennock earning her second straight walk. Addison Adams was able to come up to the plate and hit a key single to score Millikan while Carsyn Adams reached on another error that helped score Pennock to go up 4-1. The Bulldogs also came up for another three-up-three-down inning which led us into the fourth.
While Marissa Askeland kept the Bulldogs on their toes with a double, she was left stranded after two flyouts that ended the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Riverside would go on to add another run with a key single by Peyton Schafter and a double by Adeline Martens to score a run and put the game within two. In the fifth, Griswold would be featured in another two-out rally with a double by Addison Adams which was followed up by a single from Carsyn Adams to score Addison and go up 5-2. The Bulldogs would once again feature a three-up-three-down inning to take us into the sixth.
The sixth inning is where Bulldogs pitcher, Peyton Schafer, would help close out the ballgame while forcing two groundouts, a defensive error, and another groundout to end the inning. Riverside would then jump into the bottom of the sixth with a lead-off single by Elly Henderson that put a runner on with no outs, however, she would be caught stealing at second on a key throw by Whitney Pennock to put up the first out. After that play, Bulldogs Kayden Schnack would smack a home run over the right field wall for her fourth of the season and get within two runs once again.
After Schafer would retire the side once again, it all came down to the bottom of the seventh inning. Riverside started off the inning with a single from Adeline Martens that was followed up by a double from Sydney Somers to put two runners on with no outs. Lilli Reed would go on to hit a lineout which brought up Kaycie Perkins. The first baseman would go on to hit a sac-fly to score Martens and come within one run. Ashley Kelly would then go on to hit a single and score Somers to tie the ballgame at 5-5. Jumping back to the top of the order, Riverside’s Elly Henderson hit another key single to put two runners on with two outs. Kayden Schnack would once again help her team by hitting a high fly ball toward the right field foul line that would be dropped and score the winning run of Ashley Kelly to take the win 6-5.
Riverside Head Coach Lacie Patterson was proud of her girls’ rally in the bottom of the seventh inning as the comeback girls knew how they wanted to finish the end of the regular season.
One of the top players in the ballgame was Riverside’s Sydney Somers. The shortstop made four key plays defensively and continued the rally in the bottom of the seventh with an impactful double to keep the rally going forward.
Riverside played their game on the field and moved forward with their plan that gave them their final win before postseason action. This victory will help to propel them into the playoffs after defeating one of the top teams in the state.
The Bulldogs will now await the first round of play on Monday, July 8th against Boyer Valley while Griswold awaits their opponent after receiving a first-round bye. The Tigers will take on either East Mills or St. Albert on Wednesday, July 10th with a broadcast on 96.5 KSOM.
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