White Knoll softball bounces back to notch first region win in victory over Chapin

White Knoll softball coach April Farr was looking for certain things Tuesday night in the Region 5-5A showdown with Chapin.

First and foremost, Farr was hoping her team would bounce back from a region-opening loss to Lexington on Friday night. Secondly, if things went in the wrong direction against the Eagles, how would her team respond to the adversity?

It might be an understatement to say the Timberwolves answered both with flying colors in the 10-3 victory.

“The big thing we talked about after Friday night is how we were going to respond in our next big game,” Farr said. “We worked hard the next day, going over some things we needed to work on. I think we responded very well, especially when we went down two runs.

“We talked about setting goals. We go down two — do we crumble or do we keep pushing and pushing? They did a great job putting the ball in play and letting it come to them.”

Chapin (7-5, 1-1) jumped on top early thanks to the big bat of Andee Dircks. It started with a two-run home run in the top of the first that scored Leah Cabe.

But Farr was glad to see her team not crumble from falling into the early deficit. Nikki Gallardo, who had three hits, started things with a single followed by a double from Marlena Perez. Mackenzi Bradley walked to load the bases in the second inning.

Gabby Porterfield was hit by a pitch to drive in the first run. Lydia Faulk grounded back to the mound and the Eagles got the force out at home, but an errant throw to first to try to complete the double play allowed the tying run to score.

The teams traded runs, including another home run from Dircks, to be tied at three going to the fifth. White Knoll (8-4, 1-1) then exploded for seven runs, all on the strength of the long ball.

Lexi Winters got things started with a two-run home run. Abby Gates followed that with a solo blast that made it 6-3. Singles by Gallardo and Perez and a walk to Bradley loaded the bases again for Porterfield. This time she blasted one over the left-field fence for a 10-3 lead.

“(Nice) bounce back from having a loss like that last Friday. We were able to build our confidence to go further into the region,” Winters said. “When you have big region teams going against each other, you hear rivalry, so I think we had more confidence in ourselves as a team. It allowed us to perform better.”

Perez earned the win by allowing three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.

WP: Marlena Perez. LP: Leah Cabe. Hitters: WK – Nikki Gallardo 3-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI; Lexi Winters 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Gabby Porterfield 1-2, grand slam, 5 RBI; Perez 2-3, Abby Gates HR. C – Andree Dircks 2-2, 2 HR, 3 RBI.