RUSSIAVILLE — Western baserunner Allora Bevington had just a split second to make a critical decision in the seventh inning of a tie game between two defending state champions. She got it on the money.
With the bases loaded, the scoreboard knotted at 3-3 and pinch runner Bevington on third base, Bevington broke for home on a passed ball and raced in to score the winning run. That pushed Class 3A No. 3 Western past Class 2A No. 10 Rossville 4-3.
“Allora Bevington’s one of our faster runners and the ball got away from the catcher just enough for her to capitalize on it,” Western coach Bart Miller said. “I was really proud of the freshman to be aggressive and go for that at the end of the game.
“She read it and went on her own. It’s something we work on in practice. That was all her. I didn’t have to say a word. She knew if it got away that she should go, with her speed, and utilize that speed that she has.”
That ended a tense battle between last year’s Class 3A state champ Western (19-3) and the Class A champion Rossville (10-3). The Hornets struck first with a solo home run in the top of the first inning by Allie Elliott. Western took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Brynley Erb doubled for Western, then scored on Lucy George’s RBI single. Then George scored on two passed balls for a 2-1 lead.
Erb, who doubled to start the first-inning rally, put Western on top 3-1 with a solo homer in the third. The score held at 3-1 until the top of the sixth when Rossville got three hits and a walk to plate two runs and tie the game.
Then in the seventh, Western rallied for the walk-off winning run without a hit. The Panthers loaded the bases with Laney Hamilton reaching on a dropped third strike, Lexi Dollens reaching on an error, and Erb drawing a two-out intentional walk.
The matchup of ranked champs also featured two major-college commits in Western junior Erb, a Kentucky commit, and Rossville senior pitcher Avery Layton, who has signed with No. 14 Virginia Tech.
“I felt both teams got better, Rossville and us,” Bart Miller said of the non-conference matchup of ranked squads. “Avery Layton, their pitcher, you’re not going to see too many too many high school pitchers of that caliber. To see her and to be successful for us — we knew she had speed and we knew she could move it, we just wanted to get the bat on the ball.
“Brynley Erb did a fantastic job of doing that with three hits and a home run. We’re fouling balls off, putting balls in play, forcing them to make plays, and I think that’s how we were able to improve is seeing that type of pitching and getting more confident against any type of pitching that we’ll see this year.”
The key word was confidence, and Rossville felt the same way.
Rossville coach Chris Gorbett said what the Hornets took from the matchup was “confidence. That’s what we preach is confidence, believe in yourself and believe in your teammates and [Wednesday] night it showed, so I’m proud of what they did and they’re proud of what they did. Unfortunately, it ended the way it did, and that’s OK.
“We knew coming in it would be a good game and we were happy to play at this level and be able to play a solid game.”
Erb went 3 for 3 with two doubles, a homer, two steals and a walk. The homer was her state-leading 14th of the season and 50th of her Panther career.
The Panthers managed just four hits and had three other baserunners on two dropped third strikes and an error. Layton threw all seven with two earned runs and 13 strikeouts.
Western pitcher Kylie Miller earned the win, throwing all seven innings with five hits, three earned runs, a walk and eight strikeouts. Her only rough inning was the sixth when Rossville plated two. The Panthers limited the damage in that inning with a sharp unassisted double play from third baseman Jocelyn Jeffers, who snagged a line drive and doubled off the runner at third.
“Kylie Miller in the circle, I felt kept them off balance most of the night,” Bart Miller said. “There in the sixth inning they were able to get some baserunners and string a couple of hits together to tie the game.
“Lexi Dollens behind the plate did a fantastic job — catching the runner stealing in the fourth inning was a big play, but I thought the biggest play in the game was Jocelyn Jeffers there at third base catching that line drive and then doubling up the runner there at third. I thought Kylie made an excellent pitch and Jocelyn, reading the wrist band, I think expected the ball to come her way, and it did, and it worked out for us.”
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