BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
BEULAH — Maddison Tapley recorded two runs and two RBIs and Kenleigh Sanders tallied a run and an RBI to lead Beulah High School to a thrilling 6-5 home win over Valley High School on April 13.
Kailee Harris finished with two runs and two RBIs, Macy Wadkins tallied a run and an RBI and Hadley Helleso scored two runs for the Lady Rams.
With the victory, the Lady Bobcats (3A) improved to 5-16 while VHS (5A) dropped to 7-18.
After complimenting the Lady Rams, BHS head coach William Pepper said Monday’s game was an excellent opportunity to play what he characterized as a quality nonarea opponent 10 minutes up the road.
He added that the game played out in a near-identical way as many of the Lady Bobcats’ other games this season.
“It looked rough at times, but I told them that I appreciate them playing like a team,” Pepper said. “This is how we’ve played all year. Every single game we have a bad half inning, and then, depending on when that happens, we might have time to come back from it. We’ve just got to stop having a bad half inning in the fifth, sixth or seventh inning. I knew we were going to come back, it was just a matter of when it was going to start.”
For star eighth-grade catcher Tapley, it was just another day in the office. However, when the Lady Bobcats found themselves still down 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth, her two-RBI double flipped the game on its head.
After hardly celebrating her game-tying play on second base, she said her ability to stay calm in pressure-packed situations is second nature.
“I rely on my team. Whenever we’re down, I trust them to get up, and whenever I’m down, they’ll get me up and then get me more motivated,” Tapley said. ”It’s just kind of natural to me. I don’t really show any emotions, but whenever we get up, I’ll get up with them. There’s nothing to brag about, everybody’s good on the team. You just have to be humble about it and be the best you can be.”
BHS struck first in the bottom of the second when Sanders was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing Charlee Burgess home from third. Reese Riley settled down to strand the remaining runners, keeping the damage to a single run.
The Lady Rams answered with a three-run rally in the top of the fourth. Harris ripped a triple into right field to plate Helleso from first, then came around to score two batters later on Gracyn Melton’s line-drive single to right. Addison Lee extended the inning with a grounder that the shortstop couldn’t handle, allowing Wadkins to race home from second.
VHS tacked on two more in the fifth. Harris doubled into right to score Helleso, and Wadkins followed with an RBI single to the shortstop, bringing Harris home from third and pushing the lead to 5-1.
But the Lady Bobcats came roaring back in the bottom half. Maci Wingo reached on a third-baseman’s error and moved to second on the same miscue, with Tapley scampering home from first. Emmy Willingham’s groundout to first then plated Wingo from third to trim the deficit.
BHS broke it open in the bottom of the sixth. Tapley laced a hard grounder into right field and hustled into second on the throw, scoring Rylee Pruett and Sanders from third and second. Bristol Browning then reached on an error near the first-base bag, bringing Tapley home with what proved to be the decisive run.
Pruett earned the win in the circle for the Lady Bobcats, going 3 2/3 innings while allowing four hits and three runs — one earned — with three strikeouts.
Riley took the loss for VHS, surrendering six runs — three earned — on five hits over five innings, while walking four and striking out five.
