It wasn’t the outcome Habersham Central wanted, dropping two games by a combined three runs on Saturday, but the Lady Raiders held their own against two of the state’s top programs.
Habersham took on both Chestatee and Union County at home, with the visitors playing each other in the middle game of the “tri-match” on Saturday afternoon. Habersham Central had the daunting task of playing Chestatee, a team that entered play as the seventh-ranked team in the state while going undefeated at 10-0.
After surrendering a run in the first, the Lady Raider offense bounced back with a run of their own. The Lady War Eagles took back the lead in the second with a run, and added some insurance with another in the fifth to hold on for the 3-1 win over Habersham. Habersham was led by Paige Cook, who was 1-for-3 with a solo homerun, while Jennifer Dover added a pair of hits.
After watching Chestatee and Union then battle it out in the next game, 3-2 Lady War Eagles in extra innings, the Lady Raiders went back to work against the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Raiders rallied from two down early, but squandered a 3-2 lead. A run in the home half of the sixth knotted the game at five each, but Union scored the go-ahead and game-winning run in the top of the seventh for the 6-5 win.
Janie Beth Webb tallied four hits in the loss, scoring two runs. Dover had an RBI double, while Cook, Ansleigh Holland and Cara Scroggs all had two hits each. Jenna Smith, Kylie Gray and Adelaide Askew all had a hit and RBI.
The Lady Raiders are 3-10 on the season and 0-4 in region play following their eighth straight loss.
