TEXARKANA, Texas - Mollie Fisher pitched four innings of 1-hit relief, Texas High smacked a pair of home runs, and the Lady Tigers rallied late to edge Liberty-Eylau in a softball game at Lady Tiger Field Tuesday.
After the fourth lead change, the THS added an insurance run and closed the door on the Lady Leopards, 9-7. L-E had held leads of 1-0, 4-3 and 7-3, but Texas High scored six unanswered runs to end the game.
Fisher had two 1-2-3 innings, gave up one hit and walked one during her four innings of work in the circle. She had seven strikeouts.
Fisher picked up the pitching win in relief of Olivia Huckabee, who surrendered seven runs on five hits in three innings. Huckabee fanned five and walked four.
Shelby Ryther threw 128 pitches in the losing effort. She was touched up for 15 hits, struck out four and walked five.
Texas High regained its early lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Valeria Perez beat out an infield single, and Ashanti Northcross walked to put two on with one out.
A wild pitch moved the pair into scoring position, and Vanessa Perez's deep fly to left-center tied the game. Fisher added her third hit of the game and second double, driving in Northcross for the go-ahead run.
Two runners were stranded to end the fifth, but Emma Prince led off the next Tiger inning with a solo home run to right for a 9-7 lead.
Taliyah James walked to start the game for the Leopards, and she scored from second on a one-out single by Leah Walker. A pair of spectacular catches in right and center field by the Tigers kept the score 1-0.
In the bottom of the first, Northcross bunted for a leadoff single, stole second, took third on a ground out and scored on Lauren Allred's home run to left-center field. Fisher and Prince sandwiched singles around a strikeout, and Fisher scored on Prince's hit to left to make it 3-1.
Liberty-Eylau took its second lead of the game in the second inning, when Huckabee had three strikeouts. Ryther walked to start the inning, an error put two on, and James singled to left with two outs to load the bases.
Makenzie Kvarda's double on the eighth pitch of her at-bat cleared the bases, scoring all three runs for a 4-3 Leopard lead.
Texas High loaded the bags in the bottom of the second but left the three runners stranded to end the inning.
Micaiah Peters drilled a two-out, stand-up triple to right field for Liberty-Eylau in the third, driving in a pair of runs with her shot over the defender's head. Katelin Downs followed with a stand-up triple to stake the Leopards to a 7-3 lead.
Mollie Johnson grounded a hit to left to start the Tigers' third, and Prince and Alexys Reed followed with singles, Reed driving in Johnson. A two-out walk loaded the bases before L-E ended the inning.
Ja'Kai Ray lined a double with two down in the fourth for the Leopards but advantaged no further.
Fisher doubled in a THS run in the bottom of the fourth, and she scored on Prince's ground out for the second out, leaving Liberty-Eylau ahead 7-6.