Tipton-Rosemark Wins First Game 2-0 Before Baylor Wins Second, 14-2

The Baylor Lady Red Raiders have never had to play a third "if necessary" game in the state softball tournament quarterfinal round, but they will have to do so on Saturday if they hope to play for their 10th straight state title next week in Murfreesboro.

Baylor lost two straight to Briarcrest in 2008 and didn't place, but it's been a cakewalk ever since as the usual two seed from the Memphis area haven't been very good since then and Baylor normally wins in a two-game sweep.

But on Friday afternoon, Baylor and Tipton-Rosemark hooked up in a doubleheader with the winner advancing.  Nothing was decided as each team won one time.

The Lady Rebels scored two runs in the seventh inning to pull out a 2-0 thriller in the first game, but Baylor bounced right back and beat them 14-2 in the second game that was called after five innings.

Lanie Howe, a spunky junior who has committed to play at Chattanooga State after she graduates, pitched the game of her life in the opener as she limited a normally-strong hitting Baylor team to just four hits. 

Defensively, shortstop Lola Sprenkle was outstanding with eight assists as the Lady Rebels played flawless defense.

And while both teams had multiple chances to break through, it wasn't until the seventh that somebody scored.

Adison Wallington had pitched six shutout innings for Baylor and allowed just two hits while walking four and striking out seven.  She was replaced by Brenna Bagley in the seventh, who took the loss after allowing those two runs on three hits.

Bagley struck out the first two hitters she faced and looked overpowering in doing so, but Lauren Pickett doubled and Sprenkle walked to put two runners on, setting the stage for a two-run double by Annisten Glass that proved to be the game-winning hit.

Howe got the first two Baylor outs on grounders in the seventh, but it was a spectacular diving catch in center field by Zadie Reburn off a drive from Mary Blake Reese that ended the game.

You would have thought that Tipton-Rosemark had won the national championship as they whooped and hollered in celebration following the last out.

Howe was shedding tears of joy as that was without a doubt the biggest win for her or her team this season.

"It's emotional," she said after receiving hugs and well-wishes from teammates and Lady Rebel parents following the game.

"I feel really good right now, but I just had the feeling that we could do it once the game got started," she added.

The Baylor girls may have been down at that point, but they were never out and they came back with a vengeance in the second game as they scored single runs in each of the first three innings before exploding with 11 more in the fourth.

Every Baylor starter scored as all 11 of those runs scored before the first out was recorded.

Southpaw Emma Usery started for the Lady Rebels, but was replaced after facing four hitters in the fourth.  Reese Park didn't fare much better after allowing the final seven runs on seven hits.

Olivia Elkhill, a junior for Baylor who is playing for the first time after transferring from a school in Cumming, Ga., made her first appearance in the first game after missing more than a month with a leg injury.

She didn't have a hit in the first game, but led off the second with a double and finished with four hits, three runs scored and two runs batted in to lead the Baylor attack.

Wallington had three hits and three RBIs including a solo homer in the fourth, while Rylee Jasper also had three hits and scored twice.

While Bagley was saddled with the loss in the first game, she got the win in the second after allowing two runs on six hits in five innings while walking four and striking out six.

Baylor coach Kelli Smith knew that Tipton-Rosemark was much better than their 23-18-1 record coming in and she was quick to praise Howe for a great game in the circle.

"The Howe kid was really good as she kept us off-balance and got a lot of ground balls in the first game, but I'm proud of how we regrouped, came back out and played great in the second game," she said afterward.

"That fourth inning was quite impressive, but we had a much better approach at the plate.  We know this series isn't over, but I just hope we can come back and play our best tomorrow.  It should be a great game," the veteran Baylor leader added with a smile.

Tipton-Rosemark coach Johnie Sanfratello liked what he saw from his team in the first game, but not so much in the second one.

"We just have to figure out how to do that again," he said in reference to that first game.

"I thought Lanie was amazing and completely dominated, but we just have to flush that second game and focus on tomorrow.  That wasn't typical of our team, but you can't take anything for granted in a series like this.

"They came out ready to play in that second game and we didn't.  Tomorrow, we just need more like the first game and less of the second, but it should be interesting," he added.

Five different players had one hit each in the first game for the Lady Rebels with Glass getting the big one.  Glass also had two hits in the second game as her team finished with six.

Saturday's game is set to begin around noon, weather permitting.  Howe is scheduled to be the starter for Tipton-Rosemark, so we'll see if she's as good the second time as the first.

FIRST GAME

TIPTON-ROSEMARK  000 000 2 – 2 5 0

BAYLOR  000 000 0 – 0 4 1

Howe and Willis; Wallington, Bagley (7) and Willis.

SECOND GAME

BAYLOR 111 (11)0 – 14 16 1

TIPTON-ROSEMARK  001 01 – 2 6 1

Bagley and Willis; Usery, Park (4) and Willis.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)