The West Florida Baptist Academy Lady Conquerors and Escambia Academy Cougars lit up the scoreboard last Thursday, as they combined for 19 runs. In the end, the Lady Conquerors won the offensive battle 10 to 9. They pulled out the win thanks to a strong seventh inning.
The top of the first saw the Lady Conquerors take an early lead, 2 and 0. WFBA got things going when Kaunitz singled. Then, Madison Whiting singled, scoring Leavins and Kaunitz. After a scoreless bottom of the first and second innings, the teams traded runs for most of the contest thereafter, leading to six lead changes in the game.
Taylor Lunsford was solid at the plate for the Lady Conquerors. Taylor went 3 and 5, drove in one and scored two runs. She singled in the first and third innings and doubled in the fifth inning.
Trailing by 6 to 7 in the top of the seventh, with runners on first and second, two outs, and a 2 and 0 count, the Conquerors' Jessica Lunsford took three straight Cougar pitches to run the count full, 3 and 2. On the next pitch, Jessica singled to left, plating Ayanna Kelker for the tie. On the next pitch, a two-run double by Katelyn Leavins off Levie Hollinger, brought home Havii Berry and Lunsford. A Cougar error, off the bat of Ashtyn Kaunitz, scored Leavins and gave the Lady Conquerors a 10 to 7 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
The Cougars responded with a 2-out rally of their own to plate 2 runs and had runners on second and third before Lunsford induced a first-pitch pop out to secure the win.
Lunsford got the win for Lady Conquerors with three strike outs, three walks, and gave up 12 hits.
Hollinger took the loss for EscambiaAcademy. She allowed 10 runs in seven innings, walked three and struck out five.
This was the Lady Conquerors first game of the 2016 season. Follow Conqueror sports @WFBAcademy and http://www.wfbacademy.org/
(Portions of this article were adapted from a service powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.)
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Softball: Lady Conquerors rally past Escambia Academy