With fans sitting under any and everything that would provide shade Thursday evening, Womack Printing went to work versus O’Reilly Auto Parts.
Womack Printing would try to dismantle O’Reilly Auto Parts before the offense could get off the starting line. O’Reilly Auto Parts had different plans and out-ran Womack Printing by a final score of 13-11.
In the top of the first, O’Reilly Auto Parts started the game with a red-hot shot deep into the outfield for a triple by Mia Hobbs. Layla Bouldin followed with a big base hit she stretched into a double. O’Reilly Auto Parts picked up two quick outs with Bouldin on base. Bella Cantrell drew a walk and Kara Best hit the second double of the inning. Bouldin crossed the plate for a 1-0 lead. Haily Simpson drew a walk before the final out was made.
In the bottom of the first, Womack Printing led the inning off with back-to-back outs. Savannah Duggin and Reginn Grissom reached base on balls and Chloe Volf was hit by a pitch. The bases were loaded with two outs, and the third out followed and Womack Printing left the runners stranded.
O’Reilly Auto Parts led off the bottom of the second with a walk from Lydia Netherton. She also stole second and third base. Hobbs singled and Netherton scored for a 2-0 lead. Bouldin and Cadi Beth Todd crushed a pair of doubles to keep the runners on the move. Cantrell singled and O’Reilly Auto Parts drew a pair of walks and continued to add to the total. By the end of the inning, O’Reilly Auto Parts led 6-0.
Womack Printing got off to a slightly better start in the bottom of the second. Lataya Johnson, Sadie Duggin, Jazlynn Ward loaded the bases with walks. After the first out another walk by Trinity Eckol allowed Johnson to cross the plate and Womack Printing trailed 6-1. Marli McBride blasted a shot over the defense for a double and Womack Printing was on the move. The inning was finished with three more walks and after a successful inning Womack Printing trailed 6-5.
O’Reilly Auto Parts stalled in the top of the third. After a walk by Kaylee Sklenka and a single by Hobbs, the next three batters all went down in order.
Womack Printing had the chance to make a run for the lead in the bottom of the third. Mackena Hillis singled and then advanced down to second base and over to third base. In between the next three batters, Hillis stole her way and crossed home to lock the score at 6-6. The next three batters went down in order to end the momentum built by Womack Printing.
O’Reilly Auto Parts came out firing on all cylinders in the top of the fourth. The first five batters faced were walked and the tie score was broken at 8-6. Bouldin cranked a double and two more runs crossed the plate for a 10-6 lead. Todd jumped on a pitch and she went deep, then hit the gas pedal. It was a three-run blast for O’Reilly Auto Parts and they took a commanding 13-6 lead.
Womack Printing started the bottom of the fourth with an out. The first out was followed by six consecutive walks and the score was 13-6. A second out was followed by a walk and Womack Printing had scored its fifth run of the inning giving them a total of 11 runs. An attempt to score another run was snuffed out and the runner was tagged out to end the game.
It was just enough to edge out Womack Printing and O’Reilly Auto Parts shut down the press by a final score of 13-11.