Roush, Huskies hold off Lady Tribe rally

Autumn Coon hit an RBI single to left field to drive in Arwen Stump and give the Lady Tribe an early 1-0 lead before recording an out.

Roush then struck out five consecutive hitters.

All nine Huskies in the starting lineup took the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Kaylee Rhoton recorded an RBI groundout to score Roush and tie the game at 1-1. The next batter, Emma Blanton, beat out a ground ball to the shortstop for an RBI single to score Melanee Forrester.

Anderson coach Rebecca Hermann went to the bullpen early in the first after allowing a bases-loaded walk that extended the Huskies’ lead to 4-1.

“We may have kept our pitcher in too long,” Hermann said. “We are a big believer in if you get yourself in that situation, then you got to learn how to adapt and get yourself out.”

Hamilton Heights (2-1) added to the lead with a pair of runs in the third inning. With Kassidy Schakel in scoring position, Karma Collier sent a line-drive single up the middle to extend the Huskies’ lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Schakel hit an RBI triple to the fence in right field and Roush scored to extend the lead to 7-1.

With Emma Wilson on base, Coon drilled a ground ball past the Hamilton Heights second baseman to the right-field fence. Both Wilson and Coon sprinted around the bases to score and cut the deficit to 7-3 in the fifth inning. Coon led the Tribe (0-1-1) with three hits and an RBI.

“She (Coon) is definitely one that we can pretty much bet that if she comes up to the plate, she is going to get on base, get a hit or drive in a run,” Hermann said.” “She is incredibly reliable, and she proved that out here.”

After freshman Jaycen Swink hit a laser to the center-field fence for a one-out triple, Ally Allen recorded an RBI groundout to score Swink and cut the deficit to 7-4 in the sixth inning.

The Huskies scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Savannah Warwick recorded her third hit of the game with an RBI single up the middle to score Kaylee Rhoton. Karma Collier then hit a two-run single up the middle for her fourth RBI in the victory.

“She (Warwick) is trying to compete just like everyone else on this team,” Hamilton Heights coach Ken Olovich said. “We have a deep team, and she is competing to get in the lineup hitting. I like to see that she is working hard on her bat.”

The No. 8 and No. 9 hitters for Hamilton Heights finished the game 5-for-6 at the plate with five RBI.

Hamilton Heights travels to Bunker Hill on Saturday to compete against Maconaquah. Anderson battles Alexandria to open the Madison County Softball Tournament on Tuesday.