A seventh-inning rally was shut down as quickly as it began at Recreation Park on Thursday, where W.F. West lost its final non-league game of the season to Prairie 10-5.
Entering the seventh down seven, the Bearcats needed to string together several baserunners in a row, and they did to begin the inning.
The first five batters to come to the plate all reached base, bringing home two runs and leaving the bases loaded with no one out.
Prairie’s Mackenzie Moore was able to work her way out of the jam, though, as she struck out the next three batters to end it. Moore finished the game with 14 strikeouts in five and a third innings of work.
“They battled,” W.F. West coach Kevin Zylstra said. “That’s just gonna make us better for league.”
A couple of big innings helped the Falcons build their lead. After getting on the board in the top of the first, they strung together three straight two-out hits in the second to bring home three runs and make it a 4-0 game.
W.F. West responded in the bottom half of the second. Taylor Tobin hit a sacrifice fly to bring home the Bearcats’ first run, and Addison Froschauer hit a two-run single to cut the deficit to one.
Once Prairie turned to Moore in the circle, though, it was lights out until the seventh. Only three Bearcats reached base in the next four innings, and in that time, the Falcons added five in the fifth and tacked on an insurance run in the seventh to make it 10-3.
Tobin had the most success in the circle for W.F. West on Thursday, allowing just one hit and one unearned run while striking out five in two innings in relief.
Zylstra commended her for her performance, specifically for how she was able to hit her spots and retire hitters without being overpowering with her velocity.
“She’s sort of like our Greg Maddux,” Zylstra said. “She just gives us a different dynamic … It’s so much fun to call pitches for her when she’s on.”
Monroe Dalrymple pitched the first two innings, and Tanner Tobin pitched three before Taylor Tobin entered.
Froschauer, Karlee Coleman, and Gracie Elam each collected two hits, and Froschauer, Coleman, Tanner Tobin, and Rayah Middleton each drove in a run. By the end of the day, 13 different Bearcats got an at-bat.
“The whole plan for this game was to get as many people in, and we got everybody in,” Zylstra said. “So I’m happy about that. I’m disappointed we lost, but overall, we accomplished a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish today.”
The Bearcats (3-2) will now turn their attention to league play, which begins at home against Shelton on Monday.
“It’s gonna be difficult, but we like challenges,” Zylstra said. “You just can’t afford to have an off night. We just can’t afford to give one away.”
