By By Chandler Myers
A late seventh inning push put the Northview Lady Chiefs’ chances of a district championship in jeopardy as the Baker Lady Gators scored three runs in the top of the inning to pull within one run of Northview. A strong effort by the Lady Chiefs defense and pitcher Misty Doran helped them hold off Baker to pick up the championship with a 5-4 win.
The Lady Chiefs (24-3, 8-0) looked as if they would dominate early in the game with a mix of good bats and miscues made by the Lady Gators.
Northview opened its offense in the bottom of the second as they were able to put four runs on the scoreboard with Amber McMillan (0-for-2, R), Candace Greenwell (1-for-3, R), Hayley Simpson (1-for-3, R) and Ashley Digmon (0-for-4,R) all scoring runs.
The Lady Chiefs were the benefit of some help from the Lady Gators in the inning as two fly balls were dropped and their second baseman missed a tag on another Lady Chief.
Following the second inning, it became a defensive battle as neither team could get a runner around the base path.
As the teams went round and round trying to get a batter across the plate, the pitchers battled with Doran (18-3) recording two of her 11 strikeouts in the third and fourth innings.
Baker finally broke the scoreless streak in the fifth inning by putting one run on the scoreboard as C. Barton was knocked in on a single by L. Griffith to pull the Lady Gators within three.
Northview responded in the bottom of the fifth as Shawna Montgomery (1-for-3, R) toughed out a twisted ankle by ripping a single and scoring on a single by Kolbi Cobb (2-for-2, RBI) that put the Lady Chiefs ahead 5-1.
The Lady Chiefs and Lady Gators battled through the sixth inning with Doran recording two more strikeouts in her time on the mound.
The seventh inning brought some excitement to the game as Baker was able to load the bases with the top of their order as Barton, M. Royal and Griffith all got on base.
Barton and Royal scored on a single by B. Kilpatrick with Griffith coming in on a sacrifice by T. Middlebrooks to pull the Lady Gators within one run of Northview.
With a runner on third and a championship on the line, Doran stepped up and finished off Baker by striking out the final two batters to give the Lady Chiefs their first district championship since 2006.
Head Coach Sammy Day said he was happy that this senior class was able to get a district title.
With the district championship out of their way, the Lady Chiefs are now waiting to see who they will host Tuesday in the regional quarterfinals.
Day said there is nothing else his team can work on to be prepared for their run in the playoffs.
The Lady Chiefs’ regional game will be at Northview Tuesday at 7 p.m.