Kaileigh Yancey didn’t see it. Sidney Agee slid right through it.
But, as the Hidden Valley softball team celebrated wildly on the field Wednesday afternoon, they were just all glad somebody had done it.
Pulling out the dramatic come-from-behind win with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Hidden Valley defeated rival Cave Spring 9-8, ending a long streak of Knight wins against their Southwest County rival that dated back four seasons.
Trailing 8-7 after Cave Spring had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, Hidden Valley struck quickly in their half.
In the special extra-inning base running format, speedster Jordan Johnson started on second base for the Titans. Johnson scored with ease on a double into the left-center field gap by Agee to knot things at 8.
Kianna Cook walked, and both Agee and Cook moved up to second and third that had Agee 60 feet away from a Hidden Valley win.
Left handed batter Yancey worked the count full before sending a sharp roller straight down the third base chalk. The ball was fielded cleanly by Knight third baseman Alayna Francis, but Agee, who had broke on contact, slid perfectly through the throw to Cave Spring catcher Pami White, as Agee’s hand touched the plate and the ball simultaneously rolled away.
“I never saw anything,” Yancey, who was motoring to first, laughed. “Someone had to tell me what happened. I was surprised the ball came loose.”
“I was just running and sliding,” Agee said of her winning score. “I knew it was loose when I slid. Pretty awesome. Our seniors had not beaten Cave Spring since we were freshmen.”
The game went back and forth all afternoon, with seven lead changes.
Cave Spring took it’s first lead of the game in a two-run second inning after Abby Beatty doubled and scored on a single by Francis. Kylie Kent singled and White plated Francis with the fourth straight Knight hit for the 2-1 lead.
Hidden Valley used a double by Madi Cupp and single by Johnson to tie things at 2, but Cave Spring seemed ready to take control in their half of the fourth when Kacie Sheperd doubled and Beatty cleared the fence in straightaway center for a 2-run homer and 4-2 Knight lead.
The Titans followed with a 4-run fourth centered around 6 singles, a walk and sacrifice fly as Hidden Valley sent 10 batters to the plate to take a 6-4 advantage.
Cave Spring retook the lead in the top of the sixth after Sheperd and Beatty singled. Kent singled with two outs to scored Beatty and White followed with a 2-run double that put the Knights up 7-6.
Hidden Valley tied the game in the bottom of the sixth after Brooke Seale doubled on a deep blast that hit the top of the center field fence and caromed back into play. Yancey followed with a single on a 3-1 pitch that scored Seale. Neither team could scratch in the seventh, sending the game to the extra frame.
With Francis starting at second for the Knights, Kent deadened a perfect bunt to put runners at the corners. White singled to plate Francis and Cassi Parulis moved Kent and White up with a ground out. But, Titan starting pitcher Julie Nelson put out the fire, setting the stage for the wild finish.
“It was a rivalry game and the passion was there for our girls,” Hidden Valley assistant coach Vicki Madden noted. “The adrenaline was flowing.”
“We just weren’t executing today and we didn’t finish,” Cave Spring head coach Nick Sharp said. “It was a bad play here, a bad play there. And, Hidden Valley was hungry.”
Bill Turner
