THRALL — Ashlyn Jarosek hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Thrall Tigerettes (17-7 overall, 6-5 District 27-2A) held off a furious seventh-inning rally by the Granger Lady Lions to pick up a 10-9 win Saturday.
Thrall got things started in the bottom of the first. Mikayla Velasquez led off the inning with a single to left. One out later Jarosek lined a triple to left to give the Tigerettes a 1-0 lead. Dezi Lopez’s sacrifice fly drove in Jarosek for the second run of the inning.
Granger knotted the score at two runs apiece in the top of the second. Izzy Tavernier reached on a Thrall error to open the inning and scored when Ariana Herrera took an offering from the Tigerettes’ Miley Pokorny over the left-field fence for a two-run home run.
The Lady Lions took their only lead of the game in the third inning. A pair of walks issued by Pokorny, and an error, loaded the bases for Kinsey Vitek. Vitek responded with an infield single to score Tavernier from third, and a Thrall error allowed Abigail Crouch to come home for a 4-2 Granger lead.
Thrall responded with two runs in the bottom half of the third. Melaina Grissom reached on a bunt single and scored on Lopez’s single to right. Lopez would later score on Kenzie Engelke’s line-drive single to centerfield.
The score remained tied at four going into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Tigerettes regained the lead for good. A walk and error set up Lopez for another run-scoring sacrifice fly, and Engelke’s fielder’s choice drove in a second Thrall run.
A Granger error allowed one additional run to come across, giving the Tigerettes a 7-4 lead after five innings.
Jarosek’s blow came in the bottom of the sixth inning to push the lead to 10-4 before Granger mounted its comeback. The Lady Lions got to Pokorny for a pair of lead-off singles, and an error allowed one run to score. A walk put runners at the corners for Crouch, who hit a run-scoring fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 10-6.
With two outs and two on, Vitek drove a line shot over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run that pulled the Lady Lions within one run at 10-9. But the next batter up flew to second to end the game.
Jarosek and Engelke each had two hits for the Tigerettes, while Marissa Hall led the Lady Lions with three hits. Pokorny got in the circle for Thrall allowing nine runs on 10 hits through seven innings. Payton Filla took the loss for Granger, surrendering 10 runs on eight hits.
The win keeps them in the hunt for a playoff spot as they enter a key stretch of district play where they will travel to Rosebud-Lott Tuesday night, and take on Bremond in a double-header on Saturday. They will also travel to Holland on Friday.
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