By: TRACEY
JAGNEAUX
Sports Editor
VILLE PLATTE -- It wasn’t a typical bright and sunny summer’s day this past Tuesday; at least not in the sky.
However, the field glowed with sunbeams as the Shine utilized a four run second inning to wipe away the shadow of any Eclipse in the back half of a Ville Platte Girl’s Softball Association 10U fast pitch 8-4 doubleheader win.
The Eclipse looked like they may take control of the game in the top of the first inning. Following a strike out, Marli Rider drew a walk.
A strikeout later, Rider was sitting on second base after a single from the bat of Janiah Leday. Nevertheless, Shine starting pitcher Blayklee Thibodeaux shut down the threat by striking out the very next batter.
Unlike the Eclipse, the Shine did not let their opportunity to score slip away from them in the bottom of the first inning. Ella Ortego led off with a double, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple on a picture perfect relay from right field by the Eclipse defense.
Kourtney Lavergne followed with a base on balls, but was put out at second on a fielder’s choice off of the bat of Karlee Fontenot. Eliza LaHaye continued the inning with a single, pushing Lavernge to third.
LaHaye took second base on an uncontested steal. The Eclipse coaching staff decided to put a force at every bag by intentionally walking Thibodeaux, but Lavergne wound up touching home plate on a wild pitch.
Eclipse starter Cameron Charlie and the Eclipse defense worked their way out of the inning two batters later, when Charlie was able to induce a ground ball out.
The Eclipse could not produce much in the top of the second, as Thibodeaux was able to send all three of the batter’s she faced back into the dugout on strikeouts.
Offensively, the big inning for the Shine came in the bottom of the second. Anah Thibodeaux reached first after getting plunked by a pitch. The ensuing batter, Ortego, slapped a triple into the outfield, scoring Thibodeaux.
With Lavergne at the plate, Ortego reached the plate on a passed ball. Lavergne would eventually draw a walk as would Fontenot. Both players touched home with a series of stolen bases and wild pitches, giving the Shine a 5-0 lead.
The bottom of the third inning saw the Shine pick up three more runs while holding the Eclipse scoreless in the top half of the inning.
The Eclipse did not go away quietly. In the top of the fourth, they were able to cut the Shine’s 8-0 lead in half. Thibodeaux was replaced on the mound at the start of the inning, and with that came a number of walks and wild pitches.
Time restrictions stopped the game, killing any chances of the Eclipse’s bid to make a further run at the Shine.
In the initial game of the doubleheader, the Hurricanes took advantage of some miscues by the Sharknado to earn a 6-4 win.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning of play. The Sharknado responded with three runs of their own in the top of the second inning to take a one run lead.
However, in the bottom of the second inning, the Hurricanes came storming back, plating four runs of their own. The Sharknado garnered a single run in the top of the third, but it was too little too late as the time limit blocked any notion of a comeback by the visiting team.