NEWPORT – The Newport Tigers softball team took on the Vikings of Mascenic Regional High School Thursday night, and snuck by for the win, 3-0.
The game, which was originally scheduled for May 15th at Mascenic, was played in Newport, where the Tigers served as the away team.
Newport narrowly averted disaster in the bottom of the first. With bases loaded and no outs, the Vikings’ cleanup hitter grounded back to Pitcher Lacey McNeel, who threw home for the first out. Two strikeouts later, and the Tigers found themselves out of the jam with no damage.
“It all starts with Lacey and Stacia (Dame),” said Newport Head Coach Sam McNeel on how his team got out of the inning unscathed. “Without Lacey hitting her spots, and Stacia calling it, we would be in trouble.”
Both Lacey McNeel and Mascenic’s Mariah LaBrie were locked in a pitching duel, with neither allowing their opponent’s offense to gain any momentum until the top of the fourth inning.
Kendall Hamilton led off the inning with a bunt single. After escaping a rundown between first and second, she would reach second base, with Alyssa Burr stepping to the plate. Burr lined a double into the outfield to score Hamilton, giving Newport the 1-0 lead. She would later score on a passed ball, making it 2-0 Tigers.
Burr would add more cushion to the Tigers’ lead in the top of the sixth, when she singled home McNeel to give her team a 3-0 lead. “Alyssa has a very good bat,” said Coach McNeel. “We knew they would take the bunt away. That is why we bunt so much early, so that we can drive the ball past them once they start playing in.”
On the mound in the bottom of the seventh, McNeel and her defense would wrap up the 3-0 win. She finished with zero runs allowed and seven strikeouts on 89 pitches. “I think it was Lacey’s best game all season… the way she was hitting her spots and moving the ball around,” said Coach McNeel.
The loss for the Vikings drops them to 14-3, with their season finale Friday against Conant. For the Tigers, the victory wraps up their undefeated 2018 regular season, finishing at 14-0.
With almost a week to prep for the postseason, McNeel continues to preach execution. “Our defense is pretty sound. We just need to work on our lack of offensive and defensive execution to get prepared.” The Tigers currently sit at third in the Division III standings.
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