Spartans defeat West

Kayla Gross has been patiently working recently on, well, patience.

“I've been working on patience hard-core because I don't have any,” she said following her team's 9-2 win over West Caldwell Wednesday.

But the South Caldwell sophomore showed some in an at-bat leading off the third inning. She fouled off a couple of pitches, then struck a line drive triple to right field. It sparked a seven-run inning for the Spartans, who improved to 8-12 overall a night after a tough 5-1 loss to McDowell.

“Kayla's been hot for us,” South coach Moira Brookshire said. “She got it started. She is really being patient at the plate. She's stepped up and been a good leader for us.”

Matison Hall (double), Kayla Kirby (single), Kasey Hatley (triple) and Sara Spencer (groundout) all drove in runs in the inning, Hatley knocking in two with her hit to right. The Spartans took advantage of three walks and two wild pitches to produce the other runs in the frame, which gave them an 8-0 lead.

South took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Matison Hall advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Kristin Lackey reached on an error.

After the scoring barrage of the third, it appeared the Spartans may end the game early with help from the 10-run mercy rule. But Warrior pitcher Meredith Mathews quickly retired the Spartans in the fourth and fifth. South's final run came in the sixth when Lackey doubled to left, scoring Gross.

West Caldwell put two runs on the board with two outs in the seventh. Kayla Smith walked, then moved to second on a single by Kristina Frost. Both runners scored on a double to left by Kelly Frost.

West Caldwell coach Mike Swanson was pleased that his team continued fighting despite the deficit. Seven Warriors had hits Wednesday and though they were unable to score in the second inning, three of those hits came consecutively.

“I'm very proud of what we're doing,” Swanson said. “We're playing right now for pride. It's coming along. We're learning more about being competitive now.”

South's Hatley pitched four innings, struck out five and allowed four hits in the winning effort. Chastan Hall pitched the final three innings, striking out four and giving up three hits.

Lackey and Kirby had two hits each as South totaled eight for the game.

The season is winding down for both teams. South Caldwell (2-8 Northwestern) plays at A.C. Reynolds Friday, then at Alexander Central next Tuesday before entering the N-W tournament.

West Caldwell (0-15 CVAC), which lost its two previous games by one run apiece (Patton 5-4, Hickory 11-10), hosts Newton-Conover today, then travels to St. Stephens and Bunker Hill next week prior to the CVAC tournament.