By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The wait was worth the time and trouble for Floyd Central.
After a 90-minute rain delay, after a six-inning offensive delay as runs came in drops rather than torrents, the Highlanders were finally rewarded, securing a road victory that solidified their spot atop the Hoosier Hills Conference.
Breaking away from stubborn Bedford North Lawrence with a six-run final frame, Floyd recorded a misleading 11-3 win in a battle for the league lead. Floyd (13-6 and ranked No.7 in Class 4A) survived a late challenge, as BNL had a bases-loaded line drive down the right-field line skip inches foul in the sixth. What might have been? That’s pure speculation. The Highlanders exploded in the seventh to end the drama of a long, late Friday night.
“I’m not big on moral victories in losses, but we battled and played hard,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert said. “That’s exciting. I think we’re closer than some of the kids think. They’re so hard on themselves, and they expect to be perfect every time. This is not a perfect game. We have to embrace that.”
The Stars (5-13 overall, 2-1 in the league) were far from perfect. In fact, granting the Highlanders extra chances (five errors and six hit batters) proved to be the difference, especially in the seventh. After Floyd pinch hitter Shealee Kerley ignited the dugout with a sharp RBI to center, the Highlanders took advantage of three plunked batters and a bases-loaded error to create the wider gap. Elise Coleman followed that mess with a two-run single.
BNL, held hitless by Floyd starter Emmy Miller until the fifth, made noise with an unexpected comeback. Down 5-0, Karsyn Coleman smacked a sharp single to right to end the no-hitter, and Adalynn Bailey reached on an infield single to first, with both runners moving up on an error. Two batters later, Kali McGee plated both runs with an infield hit.
In the sixth, with the bases loaded, Dalanie Davis lasered a drive down the line that just missed the white foul line. ”If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts,’” Gilbert quoted. Davis drew a walk to force home the third BNL run, but Miller got the next two outs to preserve the lead. Then came the FC explosion.
“We didn’t give up,” Gilbert said. “Some plays didn’t go our way and we got sloppy at times, but in the top of the seventh it’s 5-3. That was exciting for the kids, to be in the game with a chance to win. I’m really proud of the kids, the way they fought. We’ve been on the wrong side of a bad score too many times in a row. They put pressure on them and battled.“
Nora Koehler and Adeline Shultz had two hits each while Aubrey Duckworth drove in three runs for Floyd. Miller struck out 9 in six innings of circle work, and she joined elite company with the 500th strikeout of her remarkable four-year career.
“She’s done a really good job of being effective,” Floyd coach Sean Payne said. “She’s a fierce competitor.”
BNL collected five hits. Sophia Jewell pitched 4 1/3 solid innings in relief before she was the victim of the seventh-inning breakdown.
“We had opportunities to score, and that’s a credit to the pitchers making some pitches, and their shortstop (Bailey) had a heck of a game, making some plays,” Payne said. ”We don’t want to take the conference lightly (FC is now 4-0), because I know it’s important to a lot of people. We just want to keep stacking games. Coming out here to compete against a well-coached team, and finally have a big inning at the end, was good to see.”
“Against a good team like that, you can’t give them extra outs,” Gilbert said. “We tried to do too much at times, but we’re not going to fault the kids for trying to be aggressive.”
BNL, which lost at home for the first time this season and fell after a three-game winning streak, will return to action at Columbus East on May 1.
