The Alcovy High School softball team lost a tough game Tuesday that saw two extra innings. Despite great pitching and defense, the Tigers lost 2-1 at home to Arabia Mountain.

“We’re happy with our performance,” Alcovy assistant coach Kelly Guglietta said after the game. “We worked really hard with our fielding, and I was happy with the outcome. We got some hits that we really wanted, and everyone was pretty much able to put contact on the ball, which was great. We need to work a little bit more on probably finding holes and gaps, but in all, with a pretty young and new team, I think it was pretty successful.”

Arabia Mountain earned the first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when a hit scored senior outfielder Kayla Phillips. Alcovy had three hits up to that point, all of which came in the second inning, but could not convert.

It was not until the sixth inning that the Tigers tied the game when Madison Rhodes notched a triple, and a hit by Emma Waddell sent her to home base.

Lexi Nolley stole second base at the bottom of the seventh, but a double play by the Rams sent her and Amber Bagley back to the dugout and the game to extra innings.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth, but the Rams caught fire in the ninth, scoring once more off of three more hits. Rhodes began the bottom of the inning for the Tigers on second base and stole third, but three consecutive outs gave Arabia Mountain the victory. The Tigers had eight hits in the game, compared to the Rams’ six.

Senior pitcher Tanisha Williams had six strikeouts and two hits and was a major key to what kept the Tigers in the game.
“She threw a lot of pitches, and we were relying on our pitching,” Guglietta said. “We always have, and she did a really good job staying with it and doing what she needed to do, and we were really proud of her.”

With this being their first game of the season, the Tigers must now turn their attention to the region play, as they prepare to face Lakeside on Thursday in their new region, 3-AAAAAA.

“The next game will be our first regional game,” Guglietta said. “We wanted to get a game in before. It’s one of our games that really matter for us. We played together well as a team, which is always important for us. We did lots of things right on the field, which was great, and we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and practice hard.”

Alcovy will host Lakeside at home Thursday at 6 p.m.