The Central A&M Lady Raiders put together a strong late push, but their comeback effort came up just short in a 6-5 loss to the Mattoon Lady Wave.
Mattoon struck first in the opening inning, using a triple and a sacrifice bunt to take a 1-0 lead. The Lady Wave added another run in the second to extend the advantage to 2-0.
Central A&M answered in the bottom of the second when Brookelyn Jackson delivered a solo home run to center field, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and giving the Lady Raiders a spark.
Mattoon responded again in the third with a solo home run to move ahead 3-1, but Central A&M stayed within reach. In the bottom half, Kylee Snearly blasted a solo home run of her own to left field, trimming the margin to 3-2.
The biggest swing of the game came in the fourth inning, when Mattoon pushed across three runs to build a 6-2 lead. Central A&M refused to go away, answering in the bottom of the fourth as Shelby Younker singled to center field, scoring Wesleigh Cochran and making it 6-3.
The Lady Raiders continued to chip away in the fifth. Kayla McPeek led off with a triple, and Snearly brought her home on a groundout to cut Mattoon’s lead to 6-4.
Riley Hazelwonder helped keep Central A&M within striking distance both offensively and in the circle. After entering in relief, Hazelwonder threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five.
Central A&M made one final push in the seventh. Hazelwonder singled and later came around to score, while Snearly added a double to keep the pressure on. The rally brought the Lady Raiders within one, but Mattoon held on to close out the 6-5 win.
Snearly led Central A&M with two hits, including a home run and double, while driving in two runs. Jackson added a solo home run, McPeek finished with two hits including a triple, and Younker also collected two hits with an RBI.
Despite the loss, the Lady Raiders showed plenty of fight, battling back from a four-run deficit and nearly completing the comeback in the final inning.
Kayla McPeek secures the Grounder, and makes the Throw to Kylee Snearly for the Out
Kayla McPeek with a Single to CenterField
Wesleigh Cochran secures the Grounder and Throw to Kylee Snearly
Brookleyn Jackson with a Solo Home Run
Riley Hazelwonder with a Single