LowcoSports.com
Veteran Battery Creek softball coach Bob Layman knew he would need to get creative to find a way to beat Beaufort High with Kylie Rast in the circle, and the wily coach nearly outwitted the dominant ace.
After Rast struck out 14 Dolphins in a one-hitter to lead the Eagles to a 5-1 win Tuesday at Beaufort, Layman kept the pressure on the defense by playing small ball in Thursday’s rematch, and Creek pitcher Stella Schubert did enough to keep the Dolphins in it.
In fact, Creek took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Rast’s throw to first on a bunt skipped up the right-field line and Haley Maroney sprinted home with the go-ahead run, and the Dolphins were one out away from securing the victory. With two outs in the seventh, Arianna Smith beat out an infield single and came around to score the tying run on Ali Aiken’s double to the gap in left-center.
The Dolphins (5-3) still had a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning, but Rast had other ideas, sitting Creek down in order with two strikeouts. Both teams went quietly in the eighth, but Beaufort broke it open with five runs in the ninth and Rast retired the side quickly to seal it.
Rast retired 15 straight after committing the error that gave the Dolphins the lead, and she finished the night with 18 strikeouts while allowing just one hit and three walks and hitting one batter over nine innings. The North Greenville signee also went 2-for-5 with a two-run double in the ninth.
The Eagles (7-1) kept it rolling with an 18-4 win at Bluffton on Monday, as Saylor Waldorf went 4-for-5 with a triple, a homer, four runs, and three RBIs, and Caylin Adkins was 4-for-5 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs to lead a 16-hit attack from Beaufort. Adalyn Johnson struck out six over four innings for the win and went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and five runs.
