WESTMORELAND – Pressure doesn’t bother White House High senior softball player Madisen Adkins.
“I love it,” Adkins said. “I really like it. It’s a challenge. I like to challenge myself and see what I can do.”
White House High senior pitcher Madisen Adkins throws to first base for a sixth-inning putout.
Lady Devil head coach Cindy Towers has been challenging her entire team recently.
“We’ve been struggling lately,” Towers said. “One of the reasons why we struggle is because we do not handle adversity very well. I told them that I was sick and tired of them acting like girls and (that) they need to step up and be ball players. Ball players handle it when they fail and when they do well. I’m not trying to demean anyone, but ball players need to act like ball players.”
Akins owned the seventh inning on Monday evening, helping her squad rally for a 4-2 victory at Westmoreland.
Trailing 2-1 and with White House down to its final two outs, Adkins – a Bethel University signee – doubled to left-centerfield, driving in senior Brooklyn Swann and sophomore Erica Moore.
White House High senior rightfielder Brooklyn Swann fields a fourth-inning single.
One out later, junior Katy Gut doubled to drive in Adkins.
Junior Kiersten Powell singled to lead off the bottom of the inning, and sophomore teammate Kailan Woodard reached on an error. However, Adkins ended the game with two strikeouts and a groundout.
Westmoreland High junior second baseman Kimi Richardson throws to first base for a fourth-inning putout.
In the complete-game effort, Adkins (7-3) allowed five hits and struck out 11 hitters.
“When we get into a situation like that, I have to lean on Madisen Adkins,” Towers said. “Right now, she’s our go-to player. If she does well, nine times out of 10, we do well. Give her props. She stepped up and put the team on her back.”
Lady Devil junior Stephanie Palmer singled in Gut in the first inning, but Lady Eagle junior Lizzie Johnson singled in senior Addie Morris – a Martin Methodist College commit – in the bottom of the fourth.
Westmoreland High senior pitcher Tiffany Wheeley flips to first base for a fifth-inning putout.
Then, Westmoreland junior Savannah Whiticker tripled and scored the go-ahead run thanks to an illegal pitch in the sixth.
“They played a good game,” Lady Eagle head coach Kyla White said. “We are struggling to get out bats going early. In the past, they wait to the end. They can’t do that. We have to start hitting early, but they played a great game.”
Reach Craig Harris at charris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.
White House 100 000 3 – 4 8 1
Westmoreland 000 101 0 – 2 5 0
Madisen Adkins and Copelynne Whitaker; Tiffany Wheeley and Addie Morris. WP – Akins (7-3). LP – Wheeley. Records: White House 19-10 overall, 2-1 in District 9-AA; Westmoreland 5-6, 1-1.