Taylor Drayton’s RBI gets Cleveland softball past Triton

Cleveland strengthened its hold on first place in the Two Rivers 3A Conference softball race Friday night when ace pitcher Taylor Drayton’s infield single drove in Anna Twisdale in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Triton, 4-3.

One-run decisions are the norm for the Rams (11-4, 5-1). Their only league loss was to Triton, 7-6, on March 18, when Cleveland lost a 6-2 lead in the seventh. The Rams also have one-runs wins against Western Harnett and South Johnson.

“This conference is really tough and really tight,” said Cleveland first-year coach Jason Morris. “We’ve got a lot of tough games left and anything can happen.”

Triton (6-9, 3-2) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a double by Alexis Howard, and the help of a pair of passed balls and a Rams error.

Cleveland answered with a run produced by singles by Rebecca Straka and Julia Wiggs.

“I was a little nervous and Triton is a big game for us,” Drayton said. “But I knew even after giving up those two runs we would come back because we’re a fighting team.”

Cleveland took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Centerfielder Peyton Jenkins started the rally with an infield single and scored on a bunt by leadoff hitter and shortstop Kayla Womack, who took second on the play at the plate, and scored on a Triton error.

Triton’s Ashley Daniel crushed a homer in the top of the seventh to tie the score, 3-3, setting up the bottom of the seventh dramatics.

With Hayden Smith taking Triton pitcher Lindsey Champion’s place on the mound, Twisdale walked and Straka had an infield single, setting up Drayton’s hard hit ball up the middle that Hawks shortstop Annnie Tyndall could only knock down, but couldn’t prevent Twisdale from scoring.

“That was a tough at-bat, because if Lindsey had stayed in I’ve had trouble against her, but then also I’d never faced the new pitcher before,” Drayton said.

Unsung Hero

Brooke Hamlin, Cleveland: Filling in at catcher because of an injury, Drayton and Hamlin got over the rough first inning. Hamlin, who has played infield and outfield, also had a hit.

“She’s not Taylor’s regular catcher and it showed early in the game,” coach Morris said. “But she buckled down after that and did a great job.”

Three to Know

Lindsey Champion, Triton: The senior pitched well and left the game with the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh. She had a 3-0 count on Twisdale when Hawks coach Mark Whitman made the change.

“Three unearned runs and a couple of mental errors killed us,” Whitman said. “Lindsey pitched good enough to win.”

Rebecca Straka, Cleveland: The junior second baseman rapped out three of the Rams’ 10 hits.

Julia Wiggs, Cleveland: Wiggs, a sophomore outfielder, picked her team up with a first-inning single that scored Straka, cutting the Triton lead to 2-1.

“If I hadn’t gotten the run in in the seventh, I knew Julia, up next, would do it,” Drayton said.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Taylor Drayton’s RBI gets Cleveland softball past Triton."