Lady Indians rally to knock off Choudrant, 4-3
Published 11:14 am Thursday, April 21, 2022
- Anacoco third baseman Emilee D'Amico connects on a pitch during the first inning of the Lady Indians' 4-3 win over Choudrant. D'Amico had the first hit of the game for Anacoco as she scored on Jaiden Craft's homer later in the fourth. (Special to the Leesville Leader)
By Daniel Green | BWS Sports
ANACOCO — Sometimes, it’s amazing what one hit will do.
Anacoco sophomore Jaiden Craft jolted the Anacoco Lady Indians to life in the bottom of the fourth with a monstrous 2-run blast to center, sparking a comeback and a subsequent 4-3 victory over the Choudrant Lady Aggies in the Class B regional playoffs on Thursday.
“Jaiden’s home run definitely brought us some energy,” Anacoco head coach Richard Partridge said. “We had just missed out on a few earlier, but Jaiden’s was a big lift to our spirits.”
Up until the bottom of the fourth inning, it was all Choudrant. The 10th-seeded Lady Aggies showed great restraint at the plate, refusing to chase any outside offerings from Anacoco pitcher Bailey Davis.
Through two innings, the Lady Aggies had drawn five walks, were the recipients of two inning-opening errors, which allowed Choudrant to build a 3-0 lead over the seventh-seeded Lady Indians.
Choudrant catcher Zoey Smith tripled in leadoff batter Elissa Guillotte in the first inning and drove in both Guillotte and Grayson Pylant in the second inning with a 2-run single.
Through two innings, Choudrant had seen 69 pitches from Davis and owned a solid lead.
But once Davis began to find her rhythm, it was just a matter of time before Anacoco’s bats came to life.
That happened in the bottom of the fourth inning. Emilee D’Amico recorded the first hit off of Choudrant starter Holly Bennett with a sharp single up the middle with one out. After a flyout from Emily Scott, Craft worked the count to 3-1 before launching the next Bennett offering over the wall in deep centerfield, trimming the gap to 3-2.
“That home run got them pumped up and it had the opposite effect on us,” Choudrant head coach Wayne Antley said. “They came alive.”
The momentum continued to turn in Anacoco’s favor as Brooklyn Bryant tripled to the left field corner with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. She scored on a triple off the bat of Ava Davis to tie the game at 3-3.
Davis later crossed when Bailey Davis chili-dipped a double to shallow left field, pushing Anacoco into the lead, 4-3.
After that, Bailey Davis, who recorded 10 strikeouts, took care of business, only allowing one baserunner over the final two innings, closing out the contest with a strikeout of Mattie Johnson.
Davis allowed three runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts and six walks. Bennett, her counterpart, surrendered four runs on just five hits with one strikeout.
Ava Davis had a triple, a run scored and an RBI, while Bryant had a triple and a run scored. The big hit was the Craft homer, which drove in two runs.
Smith led Choudrant with a triple, a single and three RBIs. Pylant had the only other hit for the Lady Aggies.
Courtesy photo
Jaiden Craft connected on a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to help spark the Anacoco Lady Indians to a 4-3 win over Choudrant on Thursday in the Class B playoffs.
Photo courtesy of KATHY GREEN
Anacoco third baseman Emilee D’Amico connects on a pitch during the first inning of the Lady Indians’ 4-3 win over Choudrant. D’Amico had the first hit of the game for Anacoco as she scored on Jaiden Craft’s homer later in the fourth.
