The Franklin County Rebelettes lost to the Lenoir City Lady Panthers 19-13 at Ooltewah High School Friday in their second game for the Ooltewah Invitational.
An eight-run fourth inning from the Lady Panthers created some separation in the high-scoring matchup, and a late rally from the Rebelettes would come up short with Lenoir City pulling away for good in the final inning.
The Lady Panthers scored the first run of the day in the top of the first, but the Rebelettes countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning as Aaliyah Elliott hit into an RBI groundout and Raelyn Wainwright hit an RBI single.
The second inning played out in nearly identical fashion with the Lady Panthers briefly tying the score before a two-run single from Kaylee Morris gave the Rebelettes a 4-2 advantage.
The Lady Panthers answered back once more with a three-run third inning to briefly take a 5-4 lead. However, an error on a ball hit by Destin Milner in the bottom of the third brought Paislie Edge and Natalie Hagood around to score for Franklin County as the Rebelettes pulled ahead by a score of 6-5.
The fourth inning would be a major turning point in the game as the Lady Panthers put up eight runs in the frame to pull ahead by a 13-6 margin, and they added another run in the top of the fifth to put the deficit at 14-6.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Rebelettes got their offense back on track in the bottom of the fifth as Kyleigh DeCamp hit into an RBI groundout, Milner hit an RBI double and Dalayna Marshall contributed a two-run double to make it a 14-10 game.
The Rebelettes made up a little more ground in the sixth inning as one run from the Lady Panthers was countered with a two-run single from Alyssa Sherrill and an RBI single from Marshall to bring the deficit down to 15-13 going into the final inning.
However, the Lady Panthers capitalized off of a few Franklin County errors to score four runs in the top of the seventh, and the Rebelettes weren’t able to respond during their turn at the plate as they lost by six.
Morris pitched the first three innings for the Rebelettes with three strikeouts, five hits, four walks, four earned runs and one unearned run allowed.
Miley DeSmet came out of the bullpen to pitch an inning with three hits, four walks, two earned runs and six unearned runs allowed.
Marshall pitched the remaining three innings for Franklin County with six strikeouts, five hits, two walks, two earned runs and four unearned runs allowed.
With the loss, the Rebelettes moved to 2-9 on the season.
Rebelettes 9, Bradley Central 6
The Rebelettes beat the Bradley Central Bearettes 9-6 at Ooltewah earlier in the day on Friday in their first game for the Ooltewah Invitational.
The Rebelettes overcame an early deficit to take the lead in the fifth inning, and they pulled ahead once more in the bottom of the sixth after the score was tied by Bradley Central to secure a victory to start the tournament.
The Bearettes were in control early, scoring two runs in the second inning and one in the third to put the Rebelettes in a 3-0 hole.
The Rebelettes got on the board in the bottom of the fourth as Raelyn Wainwright hit an RBI double, and Kaitlyn Montgomery followed with an RBI single a few batters later to make it a 3-2 game.
The Rebelettes then flipped the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth as DeCamp singled, Sherrill reached base on an error and Wainwright drew a walk to load the bases with two outs before Jocilyn DeSmet hit a two-run, go-ahead single, and an error on a ball hit by Montgomery scored DeSmet and Wainwright to give Franklin County a 6-3 edge.
The Bearettes countered with a three-run frame in the top of the sixth as a bases-clearing double tied the score at 6-6 late.
However, the Rebelettes retook the lead in the bottom half of the sixth as Mollye Casey and Emma Owens scored off of an error on a ball hit by Wainwright, and DeCamp scored as Jocilyn DeSmet reached base on a dropped third strike later in the frame.
The Bearettes put a few runners on base in the top of the seventh, but the Rebelettes got the last few outs they needed to clinch the win by three.
Marshall pitched the first 5 1-3 innings for the Rebelettes with five strikeouts, seven hits, three walks, four earned runs and two unearned runs allowed.
Morris got the victory out of the bullpen as she pitched 1 2-3 innings with one strikeout, one hit and no runs allowed to close out the game.
With the win, the Rebelettes improved to 2-8 on the season.
They will next play Saturday in their final two games for the Ooltewah Invitational. They are scheduled to play Sequoyah High School at 2 p.m. EST and the hosting Ooltewah High School at 4 p.m. EST.
