Woodmen rally to win opener

Yogi Berra was right about that whole not being over thing.

The Greenwood softball team fell into an early seven-run hole in its season opener against Indian Creek, only to roar back with 12 runs in the bottom of the third inning en route to an action-packed 16-13 triumph Monday.

“Our biggest thing that we’ve preached for the last few years is just the amount of effort that they put out,” Woodmen coach Greg Norwood said. “We just try to play for each other, and that’s what they proved tonight to themselves.”

Indian Creek’s first eight batters reached base against Greenwood starter Karlee Denham, and the Braves built a 5-0 lead on consecutive RBI singles by Dori Knight, Michaela Denney, Brittany Dugan, Kayla Lemmon and Liz Rossiter. With the bases still loaded and nobody out, the Woodmen escaped further damage and then cut into the deficit with a two-run homer by Alexis Rees in the bottom of the first.

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After being retired in order in the second inning, the Braves (2-2) went right back to it in the third, loading the bases to set the table for base hits by Kasey Wilhoit, Rachel Kyle and Sydney Logsdon. The last of those three plated a pair of runs to stretch Indian Creek’s lead to 9-2.

In the bottom of the third, though, Greenwood responded in a big way.

A one-out double by Ryan Bauer set off a run of 10 straight Woodmen reaching base, and all of them wound up scoring. Bauer’s second hit of the inning, an RBI single, tied the game at 9-9, and Kaitlin Heffner followed with a two-out, two-run single to put Greenwood on top. By the time Indian Creek reliever Brittany Dugan doused the inferno, the home club had put a dozen runs on the board to take a 14-9 lead.

Allison Hayes stretched the Greenwood cushion to six runs with a solo home run in the fourth, but the Braves got that run back in the top of the fifth and then rallied for more in the sixth, cutting it to 15-13 when Kaitlyn Williams singled in a pair of runs and then scored on a wild pitch. Indian Creek then loaded the bases with two out before Heffner, on in relief for the second time, wiggled her way out of trouble.

Heffner then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to finish it off.

Rachel Derf was 4 for 4 to lead the Woodmen offensively, while Bauer and Hayes had three hits apiece. Hayes drove in four runs out of the leadoff spot.

Rachel Kyle had three hits to pace the Braves, who were missing coach Gary Mitchell due to a family emergency.