This is normally the spot where we would be talking about another go-ahead, potentially game-winning home run from the bat of the CCA Lady Patriots’ freshman catcher Mattie Lewis. That did happen and we are going to get to that in a few. Her home run came in the top of the seventh with the Lady Patriots trailing 2-1 against the Terrell Academy Eagles Monday afternoon. It sparked a nine-run seventh-inning rally that ended in a 10-2 CCA victory.
But to fully appreciate CCA’s last-minute offensive onslaught, we need to back things up an inning.
The Eagles were threatening to break the game open themselves and upset the #1-ranked Lady Patriots late in the season. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Addler Swain singled to right. Sydney Lord came up next and jumped on the first pitch she saw from Peighton Harper. She lifted a double to left that gave Swain a chance to score from first. As she raced around the bases, leftfielder Abrah Harris scooped up the ball and fired to shortstop Emma Gourley. Lewis saw that Swain wasn’t stopping at third and she got into position at the plate. Gourley, who doesn’t get enough credit for her defensive prowess (someone should probably talk to the person who writes up these games and get that straightened out), turned and threw a strike to Lewis, who tagged a non-sliding Swain for the second out of the inning. Instead of having a runner at second with one out and a 3-1 late-inning lead, the play cost Terrell an out, left Lord at second, and the Eagles didn’t score a run. The next Terrell batter grounded out to third to end the inning with no damage done.
The play energized a Lady Patriot offense that had managed just one run in six innings. Cadence Cravey led off the top of the seventh and reached on an error. Gourley followed with a single; Gourley went to second and Cravey to third on an errant throw. That brought Lewis to the plate. She pummeled a 2-0 pitch over the fence in center for a three-run home run, her seventh of the season, and a 4-2 CCA lead. From there, the Lady Patriots kept rolling. Harris doubled and moved to third on a Gracie Giddens bunt. Giddens reached safely as well, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Klair Mercer reached on an error, scoring Harris in the process. Harper singled in Giddens to put CCA up 6-2, still with no outs. Arrabelle Roberts reached on another bunt to load the bases. Brilynn Waldron grounded to second; everyone was safe and Mercer scored. Cravey came up for a second time in the inning and walked to load the bases. Gourley recorded her second hit of the inning with an RBI single that plated Roberts. Lewis was next but couldn’t recreate the magic of her first at-bat. She made the first out of the inning. However, Harris was next and scored Waldron on a groundout to short for the ninth run of the inning. The Eagles were able to retire Giddens for the third out and finally stop the rally.
The damage, however, was done. The Eagles were beaten and the bottom of the inning was but a formality. The Lady Patriots retired Terrell in order for a come-from-behind 10-2 win.
“You know, I think yesterday’s game says a lot about this team. It shows how resilient they are and how much they believe in each other. The coaching staff, players, and fans believe in this team and they are going to compete until the last out – no matter the score,” said head coach Jeremy Coram on Tuesday morning.
Harris and Roberts had three hits apiece. Gourley, Lewis, and Harper had two. Harris also scored two runs while Lewis drove in three. Harper went the distance in the circle, giving up two earned runs on six hits while striking out three and walking three.
The 17-4 Lady Patriots don’t get much time to enjoy the win. The Robert Toombs Christian Academy Lady Raiders come to Patriot Field today for another important region showdown at 4 p.m. After today’s game, CCA has four more games remaining – David Emanuel, two against First Preparatory Christian Academy, and Southwest Georgia Academy. The regular season ends on October 9.