BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Leanne Dicks’ RBI single in the top of the seventh gave the Union County High School softball team a 5-4 win over host Lafayette on April 21.
The Tigers (15-7) entered the final inning with the score tied at 4-4. Mia Kent hit a one-out single. Then, with two outs, Emma Handley and Dicks hit back-to-back singles, with Dicks’ hit scoring courtesy runner Autumn Burnette.
Lafayette went up 3-0 in the second inning, taking advantage of three hits and two errors.
Union got on the board with a two-run fourth. Handley, who batted 2 for 3, singled, stole second and advanced to third on a Dicks ground out. Manning and Orton then hit back-to-back run-scoring doubles.
The Tigers trailed 4-2 before scoring two in the sixth. Handley walked and stole second before Manning (2 for 4) hit a one-out single. After Manning advanced to second on a passed ball, Orton, who finished 2 for 4 with three RBI, hit a two-run single to tie the score.
Shyla Crowe earned the win with a complete-game effort in the circle. She allowed two earned runs and nine hits.
It was the regular-season finale for Union, which will now play in the District 6-Rural tournament. Matchups and times weren’t known as of this posting.
Union went 1-1 in its previous two games, beginning with a 14-4, five-inning win at Bell on April 15.
The Tigers fell behind 4-1, but scored 11 runs in the second. After Manning drove in a run on a ground ball, Union scored 10 with two outs. Campbell Webb hit an RBI single, while Crowe hit a single that drove in two. An error allowed a run to score before Handley hit a two-run double. Manning hit a double as well, driving in three runs.
Handley and Manning each went 2 for 3, with Handley driving in two runs and Manning driving in four.
Crowe had two RBI, while Dicks, Webb, Jaydin Alvarez and Brooke Hunt each had one.
Hunt batted 2 for 2 with two doubles, while Dicks and Alvarez went 2 for 3 and 2 for 4, respectively.
Crowe pitched all five innings, allowing five hits.
On April 8, Union lost 7-5 to visiting Hilliard.
The Tigers fell behind 4-0 before Dicks hit a run-scoring single in the third.
Orton, who went 2 for 3, hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth, leaving Union trailing 5-2.
Union trailed 7-2 entering the bottom of the sixth. Crowe, who batted 2 for 3, and Hunt each drove in a run to pull the Tigers to within three.
Handley reached on a one-out error in the seventh. After the inning’s second out, Manning, who batted 3 for 4, hit an RBI single. Orton was intentionally walked, while Webb reached on an error to load the bases. Hilliard ended the game by picking off one of the base runners.
