Dinger Sparks Lookout Valley's Late Rally For Win

Covenant Christian Comeback Not Quite Enough In 8-6 Loss

  • Friday, March 24, 2017
  • John Hunt

There are times in high school sports when later is better than never.

Such was the case for the Lookout Valley softball team Friday evening as they waited until the last possible moment to make their move against Covenant Christian in the second day of pool play at the Lookout Valley Invitational being played at the O’Mary-Conard Field at Lookout Valley Elementary School.

The Lady Yellow Jackets were the “visiting” team in this game, but they went to the top of the seventh trailing by a run as the time-limit clock was nearing zero.

The Lady Jackets responded in a positive way by sending 11 hitters to the plate, five of them getting hits in a stirring six-run rally to turn a 3-2 deficit into a seemingly-comfortable 8-3 lead.

While Dinger had the game-tying hit, Faith Payne had a two-run double while Jessica Carroll got an RBI on a bases-loaded walk.  Casey Crownover also had an RBI-single while Dinger’s second hit of the inning drove in the final run.

The Lady Falcons weren’t exactly ready to toss in the white towel as they sent eight hitters to the plate.  Using two hits, a pair of walks and a Lookout Valley error, the guests from Huntsville made things interesting as they scored three runs and had the potential-winning run at the plate when the final out was recorded.

It really was a well-played game by both teams, but there was more action and drama in the seventh inning than the previous six combined.

“We went from not being able to get a hit to not wanting to make an out, but we hung in there and were able to make something happen there at the end,” said Lookout Valley coach David Dinger after his team had improved to 2-0 in pool play and 3-1 overall.

“They came out smoking in their first at-bat, but we were able to overcome that.  It had been a week since our last game and not playing never helps us.  We didn’t perform well and I think the time off may have been one of the reasons,” he added.

Katie Dinger, David’s daughter, turned out to be the winning pitcher and she was right in the middle of that seventh-inning rally as she drove in the tying run with a double in her first at-bat while adding a little insurance with a run-scoring single in her second.

And then, she was right back in the line of fire in the bottom of the inning.

Hayleigh Davis led off with a towering homer into the trees in left while Morgan Wells followed with a double down the line in right.

Dinger got a pop to first for the first out before loading the bases with back-to-back walks to Jordan Gilmore and Myah Florek.  A bad throw on a routine infield grounder allowed two more Lady Falcons to score before Dinger got the final two hitters on pops to the infield to leave the potential tying runs on base.

“Katie has to be able to pitch inside to be effective and she wasn’t doing that in the first inning.  Then in the seventh, she walked a couple which is totally uncharacteristic for her, but I was going to pull her if she walked another one.  She was out with mono for five weeks and is still weak, but she was able to battle and finish the game,” the coach said proudly.

The Lady Falcons had won their first game of the day with a 10-3 victory over Notre Dame, but when push came to shove, they weren’t able to come through with the big hit and the game on the line.

“That was a tough one,” Covenant coach Brandon Daniel told his girls afterward.

“We made it a game and I’m glad we didn’t quit, but we left our bats in the dugout after the first inning.  This is the best competition we’ve played this spring and I feel confident that we’ll give somebody a tough run tomorrow,” he said after his team’s record had fallen to 6-3.

Gilmore and Florek had back-to-back singles to start Covenant’s half of the first.  Gilmore scored first when she stole home on a delay after Florek had swiped second while Florek scored on a double by Kayla Daniel.  Losing pitcher Kelley Proaps then sent Daniel home with a single to left.

Lookout Valley finally scored a pair of runs in the third.

Beth Crownover led off with a walk and stole second and third before scoring on an infield hit by Dinger.  The petite pitcher then stole two bases of her own before scoring on a groundout by Casey Crownover.

Nobody scored in the next three innings, but as the clock started to become a factor and the game reached the seventh inning, that’s when all the fireworks began.

Dinger was the winning pitcher as she went the distance and allowed all six runs on nine hits.  She also had six strikeouts and a pair of walks.

Faith Daniel, a talented 13-year-old eighth grader and younger daughter of the Covenant coach, was tagged with the loss after giving up the final five runs in the seventh.

Dinger had three hits to lead the winners while Payne had two hits as well. 

Kayla Daniel and Davis were the only two Covenant players with two hits.

CSAS and South Pittsburg were playing the final game on Friday before bracket play begins on Saturday with the first pitch set to be thrown at 9 a.m.  The two semifinal games are set for noon and 1:30 with the championship game to follow about 3.

LOOKOUT VALLEY  002 000 6 – 8 8 1

COVENANT CHRISTIAN  300 000 3 – 6 9 0

Dinger and Shown; Proaps, F. Daniel (7), K. Daniel (7), F. Daniel (7) and Davis.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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