The unseasonably cold April weather extended into Monday, but it couldn’t cool off the bats of the Indian Creek softball team.
Rachel Kyle’s fourth-inning grand slam proved to be the decisive blow as the Braves powered their way to a 10-3 victory at Franklin on Monday.
“I was looking for anything down the middle, anything down the plate,” Kyle said of her big blast. “It was a fat meatball down the middle, so I just took it.”
Kayla Lemmon and Kasey Wilhoit opened the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles, and Cailin Pickett reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. With one out, Kyle blasted an Izzy Harrison delivery over the wall in left-center field to stretch the Braves’ lead to 8-2. Kaitlyn Williams added an RBI single later in the inning.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“We came to play tonight,” Indian Creek coach Gary Mitchell said. “We were solid tonight on defense, showed up with our sticks, and everybody showed up and had their head in the game tonight.
“When we play like that, we’re a hard team to beat.”
Talea Bowling and Sydney Logsdon got consecutive one-out hits to put runners at second and third. Franklin hurler Harrison was then called for an illegal pitch, which brought Bowling home and put Kyle on first base. Following a sacrifice, Jacqui Button singled in a pair of runs to put the Braves up three.
The lead grew by a run in the second, when Michaela Denney drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a base hit by Logsdon. Franklin struck back in its half of the inning, however, when Harrison singled home Bostyn Parkhurst and later came in herself on a two-out error to cut the deficit to 4-2.
That’s where the score stood until the fourth, when Indian Creek took control for good on Kyle’s shot.
“That was neat,” Mitchell said. “She’s not really known for (being) a big power hitter, and she just came up there and — we told her she’s puffed up. She puffed up like a gorilla.”
The Braves tacked on another run in the seventh on an RBI single by Wilhoit. Emma Rutan had an RBI double in the final inning to cap the Franklin scoring.
“I was proud of the team for getting a run back in the bottom of the seventh,” Franklin coach Lisa Whitlow-Hill said. “Instead of just folding up, packing their bags and going home, they made an effort.”
Button earned the victory for Indian Creek, scattering six hits and a walk.
The Braves now turn their attention to a big conference game at Edgewood today, while the Grizzly Cubs travel to Columbus East.
