As the sun dropped Tuesday evening so did the temperatures as the women’s teams took the field for church league softball. Even though the humidity lingered, it was a welcomed change from the high heat as of late in the area.
After the sun went down Friendship The Baptist Church turned up the heat with a seven-run, fifth inning to help cement a 16-9 win over Covenant.
As the two teams battled through four innings of play and headed into top of the fifth, Friendship held a narrow lead, 8-6.
The first out of the inning was made to lead-off the inning. Tisha Steakley reached first base on balls. Riley Ryan ripped a base hit through the defense and Friendship had two on base. Shannon Madewell and Tyke Martin both picked up singles by dropping the ball in just beyond the infield. Steakley and Ryan crossed the plate and Friendship led 10-6.
Back-to-back doubles were pounded out by Sara Wilcher and Ali Hollandsworth and the lead was extended to 12-6. With runners on second and third base, Talekia King smashed a ball into the gap that rolled to the fence. King was halfway to third by the time the defense scrambled to get the ball in. It was too late and King cleared the bases and crossed the plate for a 15-6 Friendship lead.
Covenant had its work cut out in the bottom of the fifth. Katie Homes singled to start the inning with a base hit. Makayla Morgan was given a free ride to first base on balls. Outs one and two followed and the runners were held. Tenara Martin connected on a deep ball into the gap. Both runners advanced home and crossed the plate, but Covenant still trailed 15-8.
As the top of the sixth inning was due to get underway, the game approached its time limit. After reaching on a fielder’s choice, Madewell scored for a 16-8 lead.
Covenant still had a rough road ahead if it was going to make a comeback. In the bottom of the sixth, Sallie Alexander and Tara Wood each had base hits but each of them were caught at second on force outs for the first two outs of the inning. Kelly Slaughter put a shot through the defense for a single. Three consecutive walks by Kerri Berenguer, Homes, and Morgan scored Slaughter and Covenant trailed 16-9. The final out ended the inning and the game was called on a time limit with Friendship over Covenant by a final score of 16-9.
In the early innings, Friendship did not get off to the best start. In the top of the first, Sara Wilcher connected on a pitch and sent it to the fence. Wilcher’s speed helped her motor around the bases for a home run and Friendship led 1-0.
Covenant was due up in the bottom half of the second and it was not the start they were looking for. It did not take long to swap sides after a couple of singles by Alexander and Wood and Covenant was held scoreless through the first.
In the bottom of the second inning Covenant picked up a lead-off walk by Homes. Hannah Griffin reached first base on balls but neither of which was able to score and Covenant remained scoreless through the second.
In the top of the third inning Friendship cranked out three consecutive singles by Martin, Wilcher, and Hollandsworth. With two outs and the bases full,  a ground-rule double knocked in two runs for a 3-0 Friendship lead.
In the bottom half of the third, Covenant found the plate after Alexander smashed a pitch deep into the outfield for a triple. Three straight ground balls would score her from third base but all three ground balls went for outs at first and Covenant trailed 3-1.
Friendship opened up the scoring in the top of the fourth and added five runs to its total. With runners on base, a huge double by Martin and a triple by Wilcher were vital hits in the inning and helped runners advance home and put runs on the scoreboard. Halfway through the fourth, Friendship started to separate itself from Covenant at 8-1.
Covenant was down but not out in the bottom of the fourth. Several walks early in the inning by Katherine Shelton and Kelsi Smith had runners on base when the hits started showing up. Alexander and Slaughter played roles in helping to advance runs across the plate. At the end of the fourth the score was 8-6 in favor of Friendship.
The seven-run fifth inning was more than Covenant could overcome and it helped cement the 16-9 victory.