Published: April 25, 2008 03:27 pm            

Westwood softball falls to Rusk, 6-4

By SALLY SEXTON

H-P Sports Writer



ELKHART — If the number of comebacks won games, the Westwood Lady Panthers would have triumphed.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case as Westwood fell to Rusk, 4-6, Thursday night at Elkhart High School.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort tonight,” Westwood head coach Kimberly Fisher said. “They could have given up but they kept on fighting and they busted their butts.”

The Lady Eagles, who came into Thursday night hitting .352 as a team, got things started in the bottom of the second inning as Rachel Mahaffey reached on a fielder’s choice and made it to third after Hillary Hugghins’ single.

That set the stage for Mallory Westbrook, who took the first ball and sent the second pitch over the left field wall for a three-run home run, making it 3-0.

The Lady Panthers got on the scoreboard in their next at-bat as Jazmine Hicks hit a home run of her own in almost the exact same spot in left field for a 3-1 game.

Westwood added to it in the fifth inning when Brittany Barlow walked and scored on a throwing error to first base, putting Candace Smith on second base.

She would make it in after another Rusk error, tying the game at 3-3.

“They kept on fighting, and that’s all you can really ask for as a coach,” Fisher said of the rally.

The Lady Eagles responded in the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk and an error, and Calah Clark cleared the bases on a home run, but Sumer Davis retired the next three batters to get Westwood out of the inning trailing 6-3.

But the Lady Panthers weren’t finished quite yet.

With one at-bat left, Barlow walked to get to first and Brandie Coffman’s sacrifice bunt put her in scoring position.

That allowed Hicks to come to the plate and hit a sharp grounder just underneath the Rusk third baseman’s glove, scoring Barlow and closing the deficit to 6-4.

Rusk was able to pull it together and Callie Collins, who got the win, struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Collins finished with three hits, three walks and 10 strike-outs.

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Sally Sexton can be reached via e-mail at sports2@palestineherald.com

        

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