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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Tiffany Cotter swings at a ball in one of the Lady Blues previous matchups. Cotter was on the mound against the Graford Lady Rabbits and helped the team come away with an 11-5 victory Monday, March 9. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Alexis Aguirre throws a ball over to first in one of the Lady Blues previous matchups. The Lady Blues went into spring break defeating the Graford Lady Rabbits in a matchup Monday, March 9 by a score of 11-5. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Larissa Warren swings at a ball in one of the Lady Blues previous matchups. The Lady Blues played one final game before spring break Monday, March 9 and came out victorious.
The Graham Lady Blues took the field one last time before the start of their district schedule, picking up a confidence-building 11-5 win over the Graford Lady Rabbits.
The game took place Monday, March 9 and right from the jump the Lady Blues offense was effective.
The team put up three runs combined through the first two innings of play but Graford fought back with a pair of runs in the top of the third to make it 3-2.
Lady Blues’ pitcher Tiffany Cotter held it down on the mound in the fourth inning, striking out two and allowing only one hit, but Graford wasn’t backing down. The Lady Jackrabbits capitalized on big hits and an error to score three in the fifth and took the lead, 5-3.
The Lady Blues wouldn’t let Graford’s big inning go unanswered though.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jansyn Louder kicked off the inning with a hit and reached second on a throwing error by Graford’s second baseman.
Louder then tagged up to third base on a flyout from Hudson Wright. Alexis Aguirre’s ground ball and a fielding error by Graford’s third baseman allowed Louder to put the Lady Blues’ first run of the inning on the board.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Kylie Pruitt drove a ball into right field for a single, sending Aguirre and Larissa Warren home to give Graham the lead again, 6-5.
Kerstin Schupbach gave the Lady Blues a little insurance, driving in two more runs on a single into left field, extending their lead to three.
Graford wouldn’t see home plate again, with one runner only making it as far as second base in the top of the sixth. The Lady Blues moved into the bottom of the inning following a key play by Wright at third base.
The Lady Blues made it count with a three-run sixth inning.
Louder got things rolling again with a single, before stealing second on the second pitch to Wright.
Another error by Graford allowed Wright to take three bases and send Louder home, bringing the score to 9-5. A passed ball to Aguirre allowed Wright to score, extending the Lady Blues’ lead to 10-5.
With only one out in the inning, Warren singled on a line drive to left field, before a Hadleigh Allen triple brought her home to score the team’s final run.
After a busy pre-season, head coach Adam Arrington looked forward to the team’s break before district play begins.
“After going through three tournaments in four weeks, a little break is good after being hard at it for two months,” Arrington said. “It lets us recharge a little bit and then come back ready to go.”
The Lady Blues will travel to their first district game Tuesday, March 17 against the Stephenville Honeybees, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
