Two out fourth inning rally leads East passed Central

“Our batters finally settled in and started driving the ball,” East coach Adam Galicia said. “We were chasing some high pitches at first. Once we settled in and started hitting pitches in the zone, we were able to put pressure on them.”

Central jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, thanks to an RBI ground out by Maddie Birt. The Lady Indians threatened more, but Jaylyn Christensen settled in and struck out two consecutive batters to end the inning.

Christensen and Katie Hinz went back and forth in a pitching duel over the next inning and a half. Both pitchers showcased their high-end talent and held the other team at bay.

Through the first two innings, East had failed to record a hit and had only reached base via walk. Central fared slightly better, but was held to just two hits and one earned run.

After holding Central off the board once again in the top of the third, East finally got a break. With two outs and a runner on first base, Christensen looped a hit into shallow-center field for an RBI single to tie the game 1-1. Two batters later, Emily Schlagel cleared the bases with a RBI single to right field to give East a four-run inning.

“There were a lot of outside pitches, and I know Katie likes to throw high and outside,” Christensen said. “I just kind of adjusted closer to the plate, and it worked out pretty well.”

After a five-run fourth inning from East made it 9-1, Central responded with a three-run inning in the top of the fifth to cut its deficit to just five. But East responded in the bottom half, ringing up five more runs to end the game.

After a rocky start, Christensen pitched all five innings for the T-Birds, posting seven strikeouts against just two walks and four earned runs. She also went 3-for-4 from the plate on the day, and notched two doubles and two RBI.

“I knew she was going to settle in,” Galicia said. “I was kind of expecting (that first inning), but once we got into that second inning, she settled down a bit and was ready to go.”

Central was paced in the contest by a 2-for-3 plate performance from Izzy Kelly. Izzy Thomas also went 1-for-2 on the day with a walk and an RBI single in the top of the fifth.

While the bats certainly came alive for East in the back half of the game, Central coach Carrie Barker knows her team shot itself in the foot. Simple mistakes and missed plays caused the Indians to fall behind and not be able to recover.

“It’s our own fault, really,” Barker said. “We were doing really well those first three innings, and then we (always) seem to have that one inning where things fall apart.”

Central will be back on the field on Friday, as it faces off against Cheyenne South. Cheyenne East has a mini break before returning to the diamond on Tuesday to face off against Laramie.

GAME TWO

Central 13, East 2

CHEYENNE — Central opened up an 8-0 lead in the top of the first inning to cruise to a 13-2 win over East in the nightcap. East got behind the eight ball in the opening half-inning, allowing five walks, two singles and a double.

Central tacked on five more runs in the next three innings, including a big RBI double from Birt in the top of the third.

Kelly pitched all five innings for the Indians, recording four strikeouts versus just three hits and one walk in the contest. Birt and Thomas both went 2-for-3 from the plate for the Indians, as well.

East’s lone three hits came from Schlagel, Aleah Brooks and Mariah Bledsoe. Rylee Stephenson pitched four and two-thirds innings for the T-Birds, recording five strikeouts.