JACKSONVILLE —

HUNTINGTON — It would be easy to credit Huntington’s 1-0 District 18-3A victory over Rusk to the luck of the Irish; after all the battle between the No. 2-ranked Lady Eagles and the No. 16-ranked Devilettes did occur on St. Patrick’s Day.

Easy, but not accurate, as the Devilettes’ win had more to do with Huntington’s superior execution, while Rusk (18-2, 2-1 in district) was unable to capitalize on their scoring chances.

The game’s only run crossed the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning when Kelsie Batten drove the first pitch from Callie Collins into the gap in right, just off the glove of a diving Tori Choate, to score Carlie Thomas from second base. There were two outs when Batten stroked the game-winning double.

Thomas led off the frame with a single up the middle and moved over to second on an infield error by a Lady Eagle on a ball hit by Karli Foreman. 

With two NCAA Division I signees pitching for their respective squads (Rusk’s Collins, UT-Arlington, and Huntington’s Thomas, Stephen F. Austin), as expected, scoring opportunities were few and far between for both clubs.

The game boiled down to execution with the Devilettes (2-1 in district) stranding three runners on base while Rusk left four runners aboard.

Lady Eagle head coach, Ashley McElroy-Christian, agreed that her team failed to plate runners in critical situations, while the Devilettes made the most of their limited scoring chances.

“We had plenty of opportunities to score and execute and we didn’t take care of our business,” McElroy-Christian said following the game. “Huntington did a great job executing and they are a good-strong team.”

Rusk’s first fling at getting on the scoreboard came in the fifth inning.

Cami Curtis ripped a one-out shot into right field to get things started for the Lady Eagles.

Krista Adams then stepped up to the plate and collected an infield single that advanced Curtis to second base.

With two outs, Alison Bowling, batting out of the eight spot, drilled a single into left field to load the bases.

Thomas was able to retire the next Rusk batter however, on a pop up to short, as the Devilettes were able to dodge the bullet.

Rusk, who continues district play tonight (6:30 p.m.) at Center, had another scoring chance in the sixth as Miranda Westbrook led off the inning by drawing a walk, but Thomas was able to retire the next three Lady Eagles she faced to end the threat.

Miranda Westbrook collected the Lady Eagles’ remaining hit — a single down the left field line that came in the fourth inning.

Miranda Westbrook proceeded to swipe second to move into scoring position before advancing to third base on a perfect sacrifice bunt off the bat of Mallory Westbrook.

Collins then drove a deep fly ball to left.

Miranda Westbrook tagged up on the play and raced for home, but Foreman’s spot-on throw from left just beat Miranda Westbrook to the plate in a close play that resulted in Miranda Westbook being called out at the dish.

The loss spoiled a solid pitching outing for Rusk’s Collins. She allowed only three hits, struck out 10 and walked one.

Thomas earned the win in the circle for Huntington, scattering four hits, striking out a pair and walking two.

McElroy-Christian said that her team still has some work to do, but that she feels good things cane come from the bitter defeat none the less.

“We’ve got to put this one behind us and get back to work (in practice) on getting better and moving forward from here,” she said. “This game goes to show everyone we play in district is legit and that we can’t get in a comfort zone and expect to come out and breeze through district.”

No. 16 Huntington 1 No. 2 Rusk 0

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    R    H    E      

RHS    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    4    2   

HHS    0    0    0    0    0    0    1    1    3    0    LOB: RHS - 4; HHS 3.

Callie Collins and Mallory Westbrook; Carli Thomas and Chandler Modisette. WP-Thomas; LP-Collins. 2B-H:Kelsie Batten. SAC-R: Mallory Westbrook, Collins; H: Batten. SB-R:Miranda Westbrook; H: Amanda Benge.