Hiwassee Dam – If there’s one thing Hiwassee Dam softball head coach Roger Adams learned about his team after the first two games, it’s that he has a resilient group.
The Lady Eagles clawed their way back from a 5-0 deficit against Franklin before falling short 10-9 to start the season on March 7. Against Rosman on Friday, the Lady Tigers took the lead three times before Hiwassee Dam won the game 13-12 in eight innings.
“That something that this group has continued to do is just battle,” Adams said. “At Franklin we went down 5-0, and it didn’t really faze them. Just keep going, keep hitting away and keep making their plays. The score they don’t pay a lot of attention to, they just keep playing.”
The resilience was needed against Rosman (1-4 overall), as Hiwassee Dam (1-1) could never put the Lady Tigers away. The Lady Eagles led 5-1 after three innings, then 9-7 after five innings and 11-10 after six innings before getting one final push in the bottom of the eighth.
Part of it was the Lady Tigers getting timely hits, but Hiwassee Dam committed errors that kept innings alive and put pressure on pitchers who at times struggled with command.
“A lot of errors all over the place,” Adams said. “It wasn’t like it was at one spot or anything like that. Definitely something defensively we have to work on some things. Luckily, we had a lot of clutch hits at the right time.”
The Lady Eagles got on the board first with three runs in the first inning. Hayley Hogsed homered for the Lady Tigers in the top of the second, only for Olivia McNabb two-run single to extend the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the inning. After holding Rosman scoreless in the top of the third, the Lady Tigers would score in every inning the rest of the way.
Rosman scored two in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 5-3, then four more in the top of the fifth to take its first lead of the game at 7-5. A single from Bella Stiles tied the game 7-7, then Stiles came around to score on an RBI triple by Kiera Taylor. Taylor would score on a double by McNabb to push the lead to 9-7.
The Lady Tigers answered back with three more runs to retake the lead. A single from Bailey Owen initially cut the lead to one, but no one for the Lady Eagles could find the ball, so Abby McCall scored to tie the game. Owen would later score on another error to put Rosman back in front.
A sacrifice fly by Katie McNabb tied the game, then Stiles’ single to center brought Brinkley Payne home to put Hiwassee Dam back in front in the bottom of the sixth. After getting the first out in the top of the seventh, Nikki Galloway was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball and third base on an error before scoring on a groundout by McCall.
Marley Ruth Metcalf, who had previously reached on an error, then tried to steal home, but Payton McNabb put down a good tag to keep the game tied. Hiwassee Dam came up empty in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings, and Rosman took its final lead of the night on an RBI double by Emily Hoxit in the eighth inning.
With the bottom of the order up, the Lady Eagles rallied to end the game in the waning daylight. Olivia Williams led off with walk, then went to second on a passed ball and score on a single by Katie McNabb, who went to second on the throw home.
McNabb advanced to third on a passed ball and, after a Stiles’ pop-out, Sky Taylor hit a ground ball to second. The throw went to first instead of home, and McNabb crossed the plate with the winning run.
“They’ve been working hard at practice on their swings, and that is transferring over to the game very, very well for them,” Adams said. “To me, if the second half of that lineup can carry the front when the front’s not carrying it, we can win a lot of games that way.”
Hiwassee Dam started Smoky Mountain Conference play after press time Tuesday against Swain County, then plays Copper Basin, Tenn., on Thursday before traveling to Bryson City on Friday. Adams likes the way his team has hit so far, but knows other parts of the game need to be better.
“If we don’t clean it up, we won’t win,” Adams said. “So we’re going to have to clean it up.”