MORGANTOWN — Two Class A inter-county rivals came toe-to-toe in a Region 2, Section II elimination softball game on Thursday evening as the Trinity Christian Warriors and the Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees met on ISS Field at Mylan Park with their respective seasons on the line.
After the Cee-Bees took a 4-1 advantage after the top of the second inning, the Warriors exploded for 11 runs in the bottom half of the frame and never looked back en route to a 16-4 victory.
TCS freshman Peyton Moore continued her impressive season going 3 for 3 at the plate with five RBI, including a grand slam in the second inning to right field that hit the scoreboard.
The Cee-Bees scored their four runs on just one hit in the contest as TCS committed three errors early in the game.
“I told them we are here to have fun and we belong here,” TCS coach Colony Hopkins said of her message to her team after falling behind. “It seemed like they loosened up a bit after that and they played how they know how to play. They’re still growing and maturing and I’m really proud of them for finishing the game the way they did after starting the way they did.”
Trinity’s pitching duo of Paige Hopkins and Jillian Conn combined to allow one hit, two walks, and nine strikeouts in five innings of work in the mercy-rule victory. Hopkins earned her 100th strikeout of the season to close the third inning.
The Warriors earned 10 hits from seven different batters, drawing eight walks and only striking out three times.
Clay-Battelle took the lead in the top of the first with runners on the corners as a double steal saw Lydia Moore touch home from third base.
The Warriors tied the game quickly in the bottom half of the inning when Peyton Moore singled, eventually advanced to third, and stole home to equalize.
C-B sophomore Kaitlyn Wilson was hit by a pitch and made way for Lexi Stiles who smacked a double to left field, scoring Wilson and giving her team a 2-1 lead. Two more runs came for the Cee-Bees before the end of their offensive half of the inning as they took a 4-1 advantage.
But the Warriors had short memories and wiped their minds quickly of what had just happened. A walk and a base hit made way for Peyton Moore to bring home her first RBI of the game and cut the deficit to 4-2.
After a fielder’s choice scored the third run for TCS, Hopkins and Marlo Flecker each hit a double and scored three more runs for a 6-4 lead. After finally getting the first out on the board in the inning, TCS kept its foot on the gas.
Conn singled to bring Flecker home, and then a bases-loaded walk made the TCS lead 8-4. That’s when Peyton Moore stepped up to the plate and sent the first pitch of the at-bat to left field for a bases-clearing grand slam, extending the lead to 12-4 and giving her five RBI in the inning.
“She is a natural talent and has stepped up as a leader for this team,” Coach Hopkins said. “We’ve needed our freshmen who have the experience to be those players for us and she and Paige both have been those for us. She comes through in the clutch offensively and defensively.”
TCS added two more runs in the third and fourth innings to complete its comeback and the shortened win.
The Warriors advance to another elimination game at South Harrison, who defeated TCS 9-3 on Tuesday, tonight at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will take on Doddridge County in the section championship.
“We have to come out hungry,” Coach Hopkins said. “We need to be ready to battle. We would rather be the ones hunting than the ones being hunted and tomorrow we have the chance to do that.”
BOX SCORE
Trinity 16, Clay Battelle 4
C-B 130 00 – 4 1 1
TCS 1(11)2 2X – 16 10 3
Clay-Battelle – Moore 3102 King 3000 Statler 3000 Doshen 1000 Carpenter 3000 Moore 3000 Wilson 1100 Stiles 2111 Summers 0100 Price 1000
2B: Stiles
Trinity Christian – Moore 3335 Titus 3101 Hopkins 3211 Flecker 3322 Dunham 3211 Kelley 1100 Jenkins 4011 Conn 3211 Humphreys 2211
2B: Flecker 2, Hopkins
HR: Moore
WP: Hopkins 3.0ip 1h 3er 1bb 5k
LP: Statler 1.0ip 6h 9er 4bb 1k
