Lady Patriots end Lady Panthers' season

JOHNSON CITY — Liberty Bell scored three runs in the seventh inning to come from behind and beat Church Hill by one run for the second time in three days to stay alive in the Area 2-AA softball tournament on Thursday. The loss ended the Lady Panthers’ season.

Down 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Erin Vannoy doubled to center field to drive in two runs and lift Liberty Bell to victory. The Lady Patriots used three straight singles to pull within one run and put the winning runs aboard.

CHMS led off the game with back-to-back walks and took a 1-0 lead on an Emily Walker double to score Danni Guinn. Liberty Bell answered in the home half when Ava Bradley doubled to plate Ella Meeks, who’d led off with a walk.

The Lady Panthers used a pair of walks and an RBI single by Madison Holder to take a 2-1 lead. Marlee Clark made it 3-1 with an RBI-single. That’s where it’d stand until the top of the fifth when Holder struck again, grounding out to score Walker who had reached on an error. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Liberty Bell’s Bradley scored on a passed ball to cut the CHMS lead to 4-2.

The Lady Panthers kept their foot on the gas. Kendall Wilmoth led off the sixth with a double and courtesy runner Jordan Witt came around to score two batters later on a ground ball by Guinn to give CHMS the 5-2 lead.

Liberty Bell got one back in the bottom of the sixth and forced the Lady Panthers to strand a pair of runners in the top of the seventh to set up the last-ditch rally.

Holder went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs to lead Church Hill. Clark and Walker each had a hit and an RBI. Emersyn Templeton, Paisley Evans and Wilmoth had the only other CHMS hits.

Walker took the loss in the circle, giving up six runs (five earned) on 12 hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.