Lady Blues celebrate Senior Night with 5-3 win

On an emotional night where the seniors were celebrated and the softball field received a name change, the Graham Lady Blues rode those emotions to a decisive 5-3 win over the Glen Rose Lady Tigers.

The win, once again, pushed the Lady Blues into first place in district and gave them at least a share of the district championship. Graham’s seniors were recognized for their contributions to this team in their final home game of the season. And it always helps make a final game special when the team earns a win.

Following the seniors’ recognition, various alumni, the current players and coaches unveiled a large banner with the new name of the field, in honor of the former Lady Blues softball coach. The softball field will now be known as Hogan Field, recognizing the long career of Graham coach and educator, Jimmy Hogan.

With the ceremonies concluded, it was time to play ball. Both teams came into the game with a 4-2 district record, with the winner moving into first place. Graham jumped out to the lead in the first inning, as they have done so often this year.

Starting pitcher Reese Calhoun hit a single to get on, but Meagan Brooks then grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning. As Emily Lawson worked a 3-1 count, she blasted the next pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run home run and a 2-0 Graham lead.

The Lady Blues weren’t done there, however, as Zoey Harrell and Paris Tate hit back-to-back doubles to tack on another run for a 3-0 lead.

“We’re coming up, we’re hitting the ball hard, we don’t care where it goes,” head coach Adam Arrington said. “Just make good contact and I think everybody top or bottom through the lineup made good contact.”

Calhoun led the way defensively for the Lady Blues as she started the game in the pitching circle. Although she dealt with some control issues at times, she still managed to keep Glen Rose off balance through the first few innings.

In the second inning, Graham pushed the lead out even further with more timely hitting. Mayci Ryans and Larissa Warren led off the inning with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt from Olga Morales, Calhoun singled to center field to score both runners and give the Lady Blues a 5-0 lead.

Things carried on smoothly for Graham through the next few innings. Defensively, the Lady Blues were solid behind Calhoun and they didn’t run into trouble until the fifth inning.

Glen Rose strung together three straight singles to score two runs before Graham recorded an out. Another single and a productive groundout scored another run for the Lady Tigers to cut the lead to 5-3 before Calhoun got out of the inning.

The sixth inning started out strong as the first two Lady Tigers struck out for two quick outs. But two walks and an error loaded the bases and ended the night for Calhoun. Harrell came on in relief and got the next batter to fly out to end the threat.

In the final inning, Harrell walked the leadoff batter but retired the next three in order to seal the win and give the Lady Blues their spot in first place in the district.

“We made some big plays there in the stretch, the sixth and seventh inning, and I just told (my team) that’s what it’s all about, ‘When you get the opportunity, go make the play,’ and I thought we did that tonight,” Arrington said. “... That’s a big game. We treated it like a playoff game today and came up on top at the end.”

Ryans finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored, Calhoun and Lawson both finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs each and Tate went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks.