Chamblee pitcher LIly McCord struck out 13 in a 7-2 win over Lakeside. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Chamblee pitcher Lily McCord struck out 13 to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 7-2 victory in the Lakeside Lady Vikings home opener on Wednesday at Lakeside.
The Chamblee senior struck out two or more in five of her seven innings on the mound and limited the Lady Vikings (0-1) to just three hits and the two runs.
McCord was staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning behind a sacrifice fly by Shea Parker, McCord’s groundout for an RBI and Rachel Axelson’s REBI single to right field.
Ellie Lenz got Lakeside on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-out, RBI double into the left-center field gap to cut the lead to 3-1. McCord finished the inning off with her third strikeout to keep the lead at two runs for the Lady Bulldogs (2-1).
Chamblee got the run back in the top of the second as an error opened the door for a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Kate Sarago to make it 4-1.
Neither team managed any runs in their next at bats, but Lakeside had a runner on with two out in the bottom of the third when Lenz lofted a soft fly ball into short center field that looked to be falling in to score a run. Chamblee’s center fielder Kate Sarago was on the run and dove headfirst to snag the ball out of the air just before it hit the ground to end the threat.
Chamblee picked up a run in the top of the fifth as a pair of errors and a bunt single by MacKenzie Cassidy extended the lead to 5-1 heading into the bottom of the inning.
Lakeside catcher Ellie Lenz frames a pitch during the Lady Vikings’ 7-2 loss to Chamblee. Lenz drove in one of the two Lakeside runs with a big double in the first inning. (Photo by Mark Brock)
A one-out groundout by Katelyn Haynes scored Molly McHoul in the bottom of the fourth go pull Lakeside back within three at 5-2.
The lead expanded to 7-2 in the top of the sixth when Savannah Russell came to bat with two-out and runners on second and third. Russell bunted in front of the plate and the throw from McHoul pulled first baseman Riley Boyd into foul territory where Russell collided with her. The ball glanced away up the right field line to allow both runners to score.
The game went to the top of the seventh with Chamblee still up 7-2. Annabella Dente made her second catch of a line shot to second to end an inning for the second time in the game to keep the score at 7-2.
McCord struck out the first two Lakeside batters in the bottom of the seventh before Sophia Gallo singled up the middle to keep the Lady Vikings alive. McCord came back with here third strikeout of the inning and 13th of the game to seal the win.
Kate Sarago was 2-3 at the plate with her sac fly RBI to go with 2-4 performances by Rachel Axelson and Parker Smith. Lakeside’s Sophia Gallo, Ellie Lenz (RBI double) and Molly McHoul accounted for the three Vikings’ hits.