PEMBROKE — After flying out with the bases loaded earlier in the game, Purnell Swett first baseman Madison Strickland was ready to redeem herself coming up to bat in the sixth inning of the Lady Rams’ first round playoff matchup against Ardrey Kell on Wednesday.
“You just want to get your players home and win the game,” Strickland said.
With pitcher JaiLeana Deese waiting on second base and Kaitlin Hunt at first base, Strickland got ahead in the count with two balls before taking a pitch from Ardrey Kell pitcher Lexi Markle over the center field fence.
The homer put three runs on the scoreboard for No. 14 Purnell Swett, providing some cushion for Deese as she worked a clean seventh inning to secure a 9-4 victory for the Lady Rams in their NCHSAA playoff opener.
“We started out kind of slow,” Purnell Swett head coach William Deese said. “A two-run homer put us behind, and we just rebounded. Same thing I’ve been saying all year, we have a no quit attitude.”
The two-run shot he referenced came off of Markle’s bat with one out in the top of the first inning.
“I had to calm myself down so I wouldn’t get frustrated,” JaiLeana Deese said. “My teammates picked me up.”
The Lady Rams (16-7) responded with an early rally of their own, bringing home three runs in the first inning. Hunt drove in Nakyra Mitchell with a one-out double, before scoring on an infield error that allowed Magan Barton to reach first base.
Another error by the 19th-seeded Knights (16-8) with two outs in the inning scored Barton and Strickland, who drew a walk to get on base.
The Lady Rams advanced to take on No. 3 Mooresville on the road on Friday. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.
“I hope we’re going to take our momentum ahead from this game, the excitement from it, and take it to Mooresville,” Deese said. “We know Mooresville is a good team. We’re going to head to Mooresville and do our job and hopefully do the same thing.
Ardrey Kell took the lead in the third inning behind a two-RBI single by Piper Boger.
Barton plated Hunt with a triple in the fifth inning to tie the score at 4-all. Strickland singled in the next at-bat, bringing Barton home and giving the Lady Rams a one-run lead.
MariJo Wilkes capped off the fifth inning rally by bringing Strickland home with a groundout.
Deese doubled off of the left field fence and Hunt drew a walk to set the stage for Strickland’s home run in the sixth inning.
Strickland finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs for Purnell Swett. Hunt was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, while Barton went 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
Deese allowed four runs on four hits and notched eight strikeouts, while walking two batters.
“She’s a battler. She goes after it,” William Deese said. “She kept her head up and struggled a little bit, but the team backed her up and played defense behind her. Other than the home run, they (Ardrey Kell) didn’t really hit the ball hard at all.”
“There’s a lot on us about winning and everything, so it feels pretty good to win at home,” JaiLeana Deese said.
Boger and Markle both finished with a pair of RBIs for the Knights. Markle tallied two strikeouts and five walks, while yielding 10 hits in the circle for the visitors.
Purnell Swett’s Madison Strickland (2) is greeted by her teammates after hitting a three-run home run against Ardrey Kell on Wednesday in the 9-4 win in the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs. Strickland finished with four RBIs for the Lady Rams.