TILLERY COMES UP WITH BIG HIT IN PERRYVILLE

There were plenty of tense moments Thursday in Perryville as the Lady Bearcats took a 3-2 win in a non-conference matchup.

With two down in the top of the seventh inning and the score tied at 2-2, Teagen McMaster came on as a pinch hitter.

McMaster hit a ground ball but reached base on an error. The error proved costly for the Lady Mustangs as that got leadoff hitter Roni Tillery (shown in a game earlier this week) to the plate and the freshman doubled to center and McMaster scored the eventual winning run to make it 3-2.

However, that would not be the end of the drama for the Lady Bearcats (12-1) because Perryville got a potential tying run aboard via a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

It was just the second walk issued by Lexi Franklin, but she stuck out the next two hitters, giving her 15 on the day.

An error prolonged the inning for the Lady Mustangs and got the potential winning run aboard but Franklin induced a ground ball that Brooke Turner handled for the final out of the game.

The Lady Bearcats had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. With two down Franklin singled home the first run and Turner chased another run home with her first of three hits.

Perryville matched the Lady Bearcats with two runs in the bottom of the first with one scoring on a single and the other a ground ball that was the second out of the inning.

Franklin stranded two aboard in the Perryville second with back-to-back strikeouts and neither team had more than one baserunner in an inning again until the top of the sixth.

Then Franklin reached on an error and Turner singled but a fly ball ended the inning.

The Lady Bearcats will be back in action today, playing at Danville at 4:30.