By Jeff Odom
The Freedom softball team responded to a home loss to Chamberlain March 26 with an 8-3 win at Class 7A-District 9 rival Gaither the following night.
Patriots (12-2, 6-1) second baseman Caroline Whiteside started a three-run fifth inning with a two-RBI single to put the heavy-hitting Patriots (12-2, 6-1) back in gear as they cruised to the win over the Cowboys (5-10, 1-6).
Whiteside, who finished 3-of-4 with a double and two stolen bases, said the team needed to come out with a win to keep its confidence up, especially after losing 1-0 to district rival Chamberlain, which is tied with Freedom at the top of 7A-9.
“It was totally a team effort tonight like it is every night,” Whiteside said. “We finally just caught on, and it might have given us a little confidence, a little boost … because once we get our bats going, there’s just no stopping us.”
Freedom struggled at the plate to open the game and didn’t collect a hit against Gaither pitcher Bethany Kursch until Rachel Carlson doubled to the left field wall in the third inning.
That’s when confidence began to rise in the Patriots’ dugout.
Kayla Maczuga reached on a fielder’s choice followed by Carlson reaching on a dropped third strike. Maddy Hall was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up Whiteside to come through in the clutch.
The senior smacked a hard line drive that ricocheted off the glove of Gaither second baseman Ashley Masuck with two outs to break the scoreless tie.
The Patriots added another run in the inning thanks to an errant throw by Cowboys catcher Jess Sirignano on a steal of third by Hall.
Freedom assistant Ashley Alpizar, who filled in for coach Autum Hernandez after she was suspended for two games following a postgame ejection at Chamberlain, said it was good to see the team come out and respond well following a loss.
“All we can ask is for them to come out and play hard every game, and that’s what they do,” Alpizar said. “They practice hard, they play hard and they stick together as a team. No doubt it was a hard hit (against Chamberlain) for the loss as a team, but we keep pushing forward one inning and one game at a time.”
Gaither would get two runs back when Masuck doubled in a run in the fifth and Kursch hit a solo homer in the sixth, but that’s all the Cowboys would get. The Patriots pulled away for good in the seventh when Whiteside scored on another error by Sirignano and Chavez belted a home run to drive in two against freshman reliever Sammi Grat.
Whiteside said the team’s policy of not dwelling on negatives played a factor in the win.
“We had to get over ourselves to prepare for (Gaither),” Whiteside said. “I think we kept our heads on straight, and we came out here to play. Might have taken us awhile to get warmed up, but we definitely did it, because that’s the kind of team we are.”
Freedom plays at Blake April 2 before closing out district play by hosting Steinbrenner April 5. Gaither plays at 7A-9 rival Wiregrass Ranch April 2. All games start at 7 p.m.
