Despite outhitting hosts Muhlenberg County on Tuesday, the Caldwell County softball team was undone by five errors in a 9-5 loss to the Lady Mustangs. The Lady Tigers dropped their second straight while Muhlenberg evened its record at 1-1.
A three-run fourth inning gave Caldwell County a narrow lead, but the Lady Mustangs answered with five runs over their final two at-bats while taking advantage of a pair of Lady Tiger miscues.
After a single and a walk to open the game, Caldwell County took an early lead on Alicia Stanley’s RBI bunt single.
With Caldwell leading 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Muhlenberg County broke through on Jaycee Phillips’ RBI triple and tied the game on Ava Carver’s run-scoring single. A Lady Tiger error put runners on first and second, and Taylor Wilkins made them pay with a double to bring in two runs and put the Lady Mustangs in front 4-2.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Brylee Butts and Harper Holeman powered a three-run fourth and gave the Lady Tigers a 5-4 advantage, but Muhlenberg had more runs up its sleeve. The Lady Mustangs opened the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles, and a Caldwell miscue allowed the tying run to come home.
A hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out, and Zoey Frodge delivered a single to score two runs and put the Lady Mustangs in front for good. Another Caldwell error in the bottom of the sixth opened the door for Muhlenberg to tack on two more insurance runs, and the Lady Tigers couldn’t orchestrate a comeback in their half of the seventh.
Frodge earned the win in the circle with four innings of work, allowing three earned runs on five hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Phillips led the Lady Mustangs with three hits, Ava Carver had two and two RBI, and Wilkins and Frodge each drove in two runs.
Alexis Wood took the loss for Caldwell after surrendering nine runs, four earned, on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout over six frames. Butts was 4/4 at the plate, Holeman drove in two runs, and Stanley and Daelen Kizzee each hit safely twice.
Caldwell slipped to 1-2 ahead of a district rematch with Hopkins County Central on Thursday at Morton’s Gap. The Lady Tigers fell 4-3 in eight innings in the first matchup, snapping a 17-game win streak in the series.
