Published: September 24, 2008 09:56 am         

Lady Tigers stay in hunt for spot in slow-pitch playoffs

The Lady Tigers of Ethel High School spilt a pair of region slow-pitch softball games with Weir last week, then squeezed out a thrilling 3-2 win over Nanih Waiya thanks to a bases-loaded single off the bat of Myronice Alston in the bottom of the ninth.

“We won five of our last six games, which gets us back in the hunt,” said Ethel head coach Chris Terry. “Our defense has really stepped it up a notch which has been the key to our recent success.

“To reach the state playoffs we will need Weir to beat Nanih Waiya and we’ll have to win on the road at East Webster on Thursday,” Terry explained. “That’ will be a tall task, but our girls came up big against them last year in fast-pitch, so we know what it takes to win a big game.”

In the first game of the doubleheader against Weir, Ethel scored eight times in the fourth inning to take a five-run lead, then cut a four-run seventh-inning rally by the Lady Lions short to take the 12-1 win.

Alston and Ferguson had three hits each for Ethel in the win, while Steed had two hits and a pair of RBIS.

“This was a big win for us in terms of division and morale,” Terry said. “This is our first win over Weir since 2004 when we defeated them for our only district title.”

In the second game, the Ethel bats went to sleep as Weir took a 8-0 win behind three homers that sailed over the fence.

After Nanih Waiya scored single runs in the top of the first and fourth to take a 2-0 lead, Ethel cut it to 2-1 in the bottom of the first when Erving singled in Danica Kelley, who had reached base with a base hit.

EHS tied the game in the sixth, with Rosamond leading off the inning with a trip and Kelley driving her in with a ground out to tie the game.