University Heights Academy’s Chayse Gilliland smacked a pair of home runs and drove in five runs on Thursday to help the Lady Blazers avenge a previous loss to 8th-district rivals Heritage Christian Academy. UHA banged out 20 hits to win 22-12 in five innings and even its district mark at 2-2.
With the Lady Warriors leading 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Gilliland launched a shot over the centerfield fence on the first pitch she saw from HCA’s Kennedy Hughes. Taylor Cantrell followed with an RBI single, and J’Reyanna McKnight’s two-run double put the Lady Blazers in front 4-1.
UHA allowed HCA to stay in the game with some errant pitching, walking six and hitting a batter to see the Lady Warriors retake the lead without the need for a base hit.
Gilliland’s RBI double tied the game with no outs in the bottom of the second, and Madison Williams pushed the Lady Blazers back in front 6-5 with a run-scoring single.
Heritage Christian again took advantage of some charitable play by the Lady Blazers, using three walks, a hit by pitch, and an error to nose ahead 8-7. However, UHA used a five-run third to take control, beginning with Krista Keller’s RBI single. Gilliland followed with her second deep ball, lining a shot just inside the right-field foul pole for an 11-8 score.
The Lady Warriors took the bat out of Gilliland’s hand with intentional walks in her next two at-bats, but the Lady Blazers continued to put runs on the scoreboard. They tacked on three more in the fourth before HCA answered with four in the top of the fifth, including Hughes’ RBI single for the Lady Warriors’ first hit of the night.
UHA led off the bottom of the frame with two singles and loaded the bases on Gilliland’s free pass. A hit-by-pitch and an error brought in two runs, and McKnight took her RBI tally to four with a two-run single.
Needing a run to end the game in their half of the sixth, the Lady Blazers put a runner on first on Krista Keller’s lead-off single. The senior speedster only needed three pitches to make her way around the bases, stealing second and third before coming home on a passed ball for the final margin.
Gilliland earned the win in the circle, surrendering six earned runs on 11 walks with three strikeouts over two innings. Katherine Wood worked four frames in relief, allowing six runs, two earned, on two hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Keller led the way at the plate with five hits, McKnight hit safely twice, and Williams finished 2/3 with three RBI. Kate Gibson collected three hits, Emily Dilday had two, and Cantrell drove in six runs.
Kailyn Johnson drove in a pair of runs for HCA, and Madison Warren joined Hughes with a hit. Hughes took the loss, giving up 18 earned runs on 20 hits with a pair of walks and a strikeout over five innings.
UHA improved to 3-5 ahead of a visit from Christian County on Friday. HCA slipped to 5-6 before the Lady Warriors take part in the KCAC Tournament over the weekend.
