Lady Indians defeat Marlow for big win

It was a post-game celebration that meant more than just beating a rival.

After surrendering seven runs in the top of the first inning, the Comanche Lady Indians rallied to defeat Marlow, 9-7, on Senior Night when senior Jentry Whaley blasted a two-run walk-off home run over the center field fence in the bottom of the eighth. By the time Whaley reached home, there were plenty of hugs and high fives to go around.

It had been more than hits that allowed the Lady Outlaws to build a big lead. There were miscues in the field by Comanche, including two throwing errors on one play.

Comanche coach Jennifer White was not happy with her team’s performance and let them know it when the Lady Indians finally recorded their third out and made their way to the dugout.

“I got really mad and my blood pressure shot through the roof,” White said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ but they came back and they fought and played much better. It’s somethng I’ve always known, that they can play like that, they just haven’t been.”

That is where the extra celebration came into play.

The Lady Indians (7-23 overall, 4-6 District 3A-1) had been on a 15-game losing streak and they had not won in the month of September. Their last wins came Aug. 29 in a double-header sweep at Marietta.

The victory was well-timed with one regular season game remaining and the postseason on the horizon.

“I think it’s huge,” White said. “Not only because we beat Marlow, but it’s just big for them because they came back from such a deficit. They did some great things and I think it gave them a little bit more belief in themselves. It helped us in so many ways. We really needed this.”

Whaley had already hit two hard line-drive doubles off the wall in the contest. In her final at-bat of the game, she got enough lift to carry it out of the ballpark.

And while it may be Whaley’s home run that may be remembered the most, it was a total team effort with several players stepping up at the right time.

Caity Ramsey had three consecutive hard balls hit at her at third base in the fourth inning. She fielded the balls and threw out the runners for a 1-2-3 inning. In the top of the sixth with a runner on and two outs, second baseman Raelee Eliis made a lunging snag to her right on a groundball and quickly threw to first base to record the final out.

The Lady Indians also received a heroic effort from pitcher Cloey Kinkade. Whaley had started the game on the mound, but lasted just a third of an inning, giving up five earned runs on four hits and two walks. 

White pulled her and brought in Kinkade. After two errors allowed the final two Marlow runs to score, Kinkade shut them down the rest of the way, tossing seven scoreless innings to allow her team to mount its comeback.

“She pitched amazing,” White said. “She definitely came in and did exactly what we needed her to do.”

And the final cherry on top was the seniors Whaley, Ramsey and Lexi Feldman all contributing in the win.

“Oh, they’re awesome,” White said. “They’re going to be missed for sure. You couldn’t ask for more from them. Katie played a great third base, Jentry hit a homerun and Lexi started hitting today. There’ a lot of great things that happened.”

The Lady Indians began chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the first with a run. They added three more in the second and one more in the fourth. After a scoreless fifth inning, the Lady Indians added one run in the sixth to cut it to 7-6.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Ellis hit a fly ball to left field that allowed Ramsey to tag and score from third base that tied the game and sent it to extra innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jaylee Roebuck led off with a double that set the table for Whaley to end the game with a homer on a 2-1 pitch.

Comanche pounded out 16 hits in the game in one of its best offensive outputs of the season.

Roebuck was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Whaley was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run, a run scored and four RBI. Ramsey and Feldman both were 3-for-4. Cianna O’Connor was 2-for-5 and Cassidy Smith was 1-for-4. 

The Lady Indians will be traveling to Perry for the regional tournament. Perry has become a postseason home-away-from-home for Comanche. It will mark the third straight year the Lady Indians will travel in the postseason to the home of the Lady Maroon.