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Nix, Eckert power Comets to comeback victory over FSCC
FORT SCOTT, Kan. ––
After suffering a 16-5 defeat in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader the Cottey Comets bounced back to defeat the Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds 13-10 in the nightcap.
Cottey 13, FSCC 10
Cottey (9-13 overall) was able to erase a seven-run deficit, as the Comets trailed 8-1 entering the top of the fifth.
Cottey opened the frame with three consecutive singles off FSCC starting pitcher Hayley Bledsoe. With the bases loaded, Breanna Kelley’s two-RBI double to right-center field scored Patri Eckert and Izzy Milligan to trim Fort Scott’s lead to five.
With runners in scoring position, a Lily Brockus fielders choice ground out plated Hannah Bridges. With two outs, Jackie Nix’s run-scoring single cut the FSCC lead to 8-5.
After Bledsoe loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth, FSCC head coach Kristin Janes elected to move her outfielders to the edge of the infield dirt as Eckert stepped into the batters box.
That decision quickly backfired, as the freshman out of Auxvasse, Missouri laced a full-count fastball back up the middle –– and beyond the outstretched gloves of FSCC’s second baseman and center fielder.
Eckert’s bases-clearing triple plated Jessica Manderino, Delia Lynch, and Michala Coffman as Comets’ head coach Mark Skapin frantically waived his Comets’ trio around third base en route to home plate –– with Eckert’s key hit tying the contest 8-8, while also knocking Bledsoe out of the game.
Eckert said she felt extra motivation after Janes signaled her outfielders to play ultra-shallow.
“I take it as disrespectful (when any team brings the outfield in on me),” Eckert said. “It makes me think that they think ‘I’m weak,’ so I just have to prove them wrong.”
Eckert said she’s been scuffling at the plate as of late.
“I’ve been struggling with hitting,” she said. “I felt relief after getting that hit. I was so proud of myself, it was a big weight off my shoulders.”
Fort Scott relief pitcher Kiara Boyd relinquished a run on her first pitch, as Milligan’s fielders choice ground out scored Milligan from third, handing the Comets a 9-8 advantage.
With two on and two outs, Nix continued to terrorize FSCC pitching, mashing a two-RBI double off the left field wall, as Cottey increased its advantage to 11-8.
Nix, who is aggressive on the base paths, took third base as Fort Scott failed to cut off the relay-throw. Boyd, however, was able to escape the inning without any further damage.
“Jackie is an outstanding base-runner,” said Comets’ assistant coach Meg Brewer, “she takes extra bases all day.”
After setting down the first two batters she faced in the bottom of the sixth, Comets’ starting pitcher Marisa Jervis found herself in a major jam, as Nevada High School product Michaela Brewer came through with an RBI-double, followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Kylie Pfeiffer as FSCC closed to within a run at 11-10.
The inning came to a close when Jervis induced Kaylan Morgan into an inning-ending ground out to (shortstop) Brockus.
In the top of the seventh, Cottey tacked on insurance runs for Jervis, courtesy of a two-out Hannah Bridges double to the deepest part of the park in center field, scoring Coffman and Eckert as Cottey led 13-10.
With one out and a runner on first base in the bottom of the seventh, the contest concluded with Allie Rooks lining out to Brockus, who then fired to Lynch at first base, doubling off Aimee Wimp who was halfway to second.
For Cottey, Eckert finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored; Nix 3-for-4 with two RBIs; Coffman 2-for-4 with three runs scored; Bridges 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs; Milligan 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run; while Kelley and Justice Ownens recorded two RBIs apiece.
In the circle, Jervis improved to 9-4 on the season.
“We kept plugging away, hitting, grinding and trusting each other,” Skapin said. “I’m proud of how hard they worked after the first game. “We were able to put together quality at-bats and not get too ahead of ourselves –– not getting too up-or-down and kind of staying calm in the moment.”