Pitching was certainly the name of the game as Lee's softball team claimed 1-0 and 2-1 victories in the opening rounds of the Gulf Coast Invitational.
When Coach Emily Russell booked her team into the tournament, she knew she was going to be facing top quality opponents. The Lady Flames (15-2) opened the weekend with a 1-0 walk-off win over the McKendree Lady Bearcats (5-6). The second game of the day saw the Lady Flames outlast Bethel (Tenn.), 2-1.
"It was not a good day offensively, but we found a way to win," said Russell. "The pitchers threw very well today and our defense was strong. We made some difficult plays look routine. We need to have that kind of defensive effort along with more aggressive hitting tomorrow to move into the Gold bracket after pool play."
In the opener, the story continued to be Johana Gomez. The senior hurler (8-0) fired a one-hitter, fanning eight for the Lady Flames. The Lady Bearcats did not record a fly ball out off of Gomez, who has only allowed six hits so far on the young season.
Gomez was matched pitch-for-pitch through the first six innings by Autumn Allen (3-4). Allen allowed just four singles through her first six innings of work, recording a pair of strikeouts before Danielle Balough stepped in to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
Balough connected for the game’s only extra base hit, blasting a walk off home run to give the Lady Flames the win. Savanna Bell, Caitlin Haley, Jenevieve Cena, and Noelle Mena had hits for Lee in the game, while McKendree’s only hit was picked up by Jamie Corbier.
Sophomore Brittany Balough (3-1) stole the show in the second contest. She hurled a three-hitter and out-dueled Leah Hensley, who tossed a six-hitter for the losing Lady Wildcats.
Sister Danielle Balough carried the big bat once again for Lee. She stroked a single and a double and drove in one of the Lady Flames' two runs. Hernanza Ruiz claimed Lee's other RBI as Russell's team tied the game in the third inning and then scored the winning run in the fifth. Ruiz also stood out at her shortstop position in both games, according to coach Russell.
The competition expects to be even tougher on Saturday when the Lady Flames test Grand View (Iowa) at 11 a.m. and will challenge Oklahoma Christian in a contest slated for 4 p.m.