The Saint Stephen’s Falcons played Southeast’s Lady Noles in a game televised live on the Internet last Thursday night.
Although the Lady Noles came out with the win, it was a close game, and the Falcons held the lead up until the bottom of the seventh inning.
The first inning went by quickly, with neither team scoring. In the next inning, the Falcons managed to squeeze in a run with two outs from seventh grader Sydney Ashley, proving themselves stronger than Southeast was expecting.
The Falcons were missing several people, including their starting first baseman, junior Kayla Hayes and catcher, freshman Devon Sullivan.
Freshman Reagan Sullivan, who played first base for the first time on Thursday, said she is very proud of her team.
“I think we did really well and proved that we can compete against 5A schools,” she said.
In the third inning, junior Becca Banks hit a triple, putting her on third and bringing freshman Lane Barnes and junior Kirsten Samuels home. Banks, who scored on the next hit brought the score to 4-0, but the Lady Noles slowly crept back up.
By bottom of the seventh inning, with the Lady Noles up for their last at bat, the score was 4-3. With a sudden burst of energy and hope, the Lady Noles were able to get through the Falcons’ defense and win their senior night 5-4.
Head Coach Mike Murphy said he is pleased with the team’s performance.
“We went to the game missing three starters, including our lead-off hitter. In spite of this, the entire team stepped up and played a great game. I am extremely proud of all the girls and believe we will be able to carry this strong performance into Districts,” he said.
Barnes said she thought the game was a good learning experience for the team because it sent a message to other teams going into the District competitions.
“We have really improved this season, and it’s finally starting to show. This game proved to Southeast and other schools that have beat us in the past that we are competition, which is really important, especially going into Districts,” she said.