The Alexander Girls Softball team capped a winning season on Tuesday, beating rivals Attica in Attica.
Alexander was down 5-0 until an eight-run fourth gave them the lead 8-5.
Attica tied the game in the fifth at eight. Both teams added a run in the sixth to tie it again at nine. With one out in the top of the eighth inning, Madison Boyce delivered the knockout blow for Alexander when she tripled to right field and later scored the go-ahead and winning run.
Emily Pietrzykowski nailed the win by retiring the side in order in the eighth to notch her sixth win of the season. She allowed eight hits, three earned runs, delivered four walks and whiffed seven Attica hitters.
Alexander finished the regular season with a 12-6 record and potentially locking up the fifth seed for sectionals just behind potential fourth seed Oakfield in Class C1.
Pietrzykowski lead Alexander's batting, going 4-5 with two triples, two RBIs, two stolen bases and one run scored. Melissa Sawyer was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Maddison Boyce was 2-5 with a triple and two runs scored.
“We started out this game flat and made three errors that lead to three runs for them right away," said Coach John Goodenbury. "They tacked on two runs with Robinsons' long ball, and we found ourselves in a 5-0 hole going into the fourth. I told the girls they could make a choice right then, in the moments before we went up to hit. They could choose to just lay down and lose or get in the box and fight like heck for it. What I told them landed, and they made their choice to fight for it as they exploded for eight runs. It was a loud and intense finish, at the end of the game, every girl in our starting lineup came away with at least one hit, proving that we can overcome adversity if we have faith, dig deep and play for each other. I’ve said it before, we have a young team with talent and heart, and when it mattered most, they chose to fight and showed again what the future for Alexander softball holds."
Photos by Cathy Sawyer.
