GASTON — Wes-Del softball trailed Daleville, 4-0, in the bottom of the seventh. The Warriors’ offense had been stymied all game, and they had one last chance to make something happen to avoid a third straight loss.
They found their mojo in the nick of time.
Wes-Del got its first spark when freshman Tori Ward reached on a single, followed by junior Ansley Draper reaching on an error. Junior Keylie Byrd turned that spark into a flame with an RBI double, and junior Marley Bertram stoked that flame with a two-RBI triple that made it a one-run game.
Then, after an intentional walk, Wes-Del senior Kenzie Anderson tied the game with an RBI single, sending it to extras. The Warriors went on to complete the miraculous comeback, scoring on an error in the bottom of the ninth inning to knock off its Mid-Eastern Conference rival 5-4.
“We’ve been having problems getting (runners) in, and it was like that for most of the game until the seventh inning,” Wes-Del coach Andy Swift said. “They came through, the girls stuck together and made it happen.”
Wes-Del senior Bailee West had a stellar performance in the circle. She pitched all nine innings, allowed six hits and two walks with no earned runs and logged a career-high 16 strikeouts.
“My curveball was really working today,” West said. “It’s just all about having that confidence.”
Wes-Del’s (2-3) offense was held off the scoreboard through the first six innings despite managing their fair share of base hits. The Warriors looked like they would be first to score when they loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but a double play by Daleville (1-1) sophomore Maddie Rees kept them off the scoreboard.
The Broncos got the scoring started in the third inning after some errors in the field by the Warriors. Sophomore Ashlyn McMillion reached first on an error that brought senior Emily Simmons to third, and Simmons stole home on the ensuing at-bat. Senior Valyn Pattengale brought McMillion home with an RBI single, then scored herself after another error to take a 3-0 lead.
Wes-Del only got one runner on base between the fourth and sixth innings, but West locked in and started racking up strikeouts to keep it a three-run game. Daleville added another unearned run in the seventh after Rees reached on an error, eventually scoring when freshman Lilly Malone was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Thus began the bottom of the seventh, and with it, Wes-Del’s ferocious comeback. After tying the game, the Warriors had the winning run on base with only one out, but a line drive off the bat of senior Devyn Jaycox went straight into the glove of Simmons, who made the throw to first for the double play and forced extra innings.
In the two extra innings, West only allowed one hit and picked up three more strikeouts to keep Daleville off the board. Wes-Del got some more timely hitting in the ninth from Byrd, but it was two errors by Daleville that cost the Broncos the game.
After Bertram reached first and advanced Byrd to second on an error at second base, Byrd moved to third on a fly out. With two outs and the winning run at third, another error at first base on a ground ball by Jaycox allowed Byrd to get home and walk it off for the Warriors.
“We dropped the ball,” Daleville coach Jeremy Pattengale said. “Really can’t say nothing more than that. Second game of the season, we have some kinks to work out. We’re shorthanded, missing one of our star players, Raegan Jackson, today. We could’ve won the game, but we’re still in a good place.”
After suffering its first loss, Daleville will look to bounce back when the Broncos host Cambridge City Lincoln on Wednesday and Monroe Central on Thursday. Meanwhile, Wes-Del moves to the top of the MEC standings and will host Southwood on Wednesday and Randolph Southern on Thursday.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Bailee West stars as Wes-Del softball stuns Daleville in comeback win