Bears split with the East Central Lady Warriors

Thursday, February 27, 2025: Softball
Baton Rouge, LA

The Baton Rouge Bears faced off against the East Central Lady Warriors this afternoon at Hartley-Vey Oak Villa Sports Complex for a doubleheader. The teams split the games, with each claiming a 5-4 victory.

Game One
The Bears' late rally fell short as the Lady Warriors used a strong fourth inning to secure a 5-4 victory in game one.

Baton Rouge opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, recording two runs. Kyla Ashford led off with a single up the middle. Eve Fruge laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ashford to second. Lindsey Hudson then drove an inside pitch to left field, bringing Ashford home for the Bears' first run. Maddie Robinson followed with a double to center field, driving in Hudson. After three innings, the Bears led 2-0.

The Lady Warriors capitalized on some defensive errors by the Bears, scoring four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. They extended their advantage with a run in the top of the sixth, making it 5-2. The Bears fought back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ashlyn Hebert drew a walk and scored on a single by Mary Wicke, who then crossed the plate on a double by Baylie Romero. The Bears retired the Lady Warriors in order in the top of the seventh, giving them a chance to tie the game. However, they went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, falling 5-4.

Both teams collected seven hits, with the Bears committing two errors.

Maddie Robinson started in the circle for the Bears and took the loss, pitching five innings, allowing five runs (one earned) on six hits, and striking out six. Jennifer Fontenot pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

Bears Highlights:
Lindsey Hudson wenr 1 for 4, with a 1 run
Maddie Robinson went 1 for 3, 1 double, with an 1 RBI
Mary Wicke went 2 for 3, with a 1 run, and a 1 RBI
Ashlyn Hebert had 1 run, and a 1 walk
Baylie Romero went 1 for 2, with  1 double, and  1 RBI
Kyla Ashford went 1 for 3,with a  1 run
Kennedy Kelly went 1 for 3

Game Two
The Bears rallied late, with key hits from Mary Wicke and Baylie Romero, to defeat the Lady Warriors 5-4, in game two of the doubleheader.

Baton Rouge struck first with a two-run inside-the-park home run by Maddie Robinson in the bottom of the first inning. Averie Ashford drew a walk, stole second, and scored on Robinson's home run, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Warriors responded in the third inning, scoring four runs to take a 4-2 lead. However, Mary Wicke tied the game with one swing. After Maddie Robinson hit a double, Wicke drove her home with a towering homer to deep center field, leveling the score at 4-4.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bears took the lead when Maddie Robinson hit a double down the left field line and scored on a single by Baylie Romero. After five innings, the Bears led 5-4. Robinson then pitched two scoreless innings to preserve the 5-4 victory.

Devyn Latiolais started in the circle for the Bears, pitching 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, while walking two and striking out one. Briley LeBeouf provided relief and earned the victory, pitching two innings without allowing a run on one hit and striking out two. Maddie Robinson earned a save by pitching two scoreless innings in relief. M. Nordstrom and M. Leach pitched for the Lady Warriors, with Leach taking the loss.

Baton Rouge outhit East Central 10 to 9, and neither team committed an error.

Bears Highlights:
Averie Ashford had 1 walk,and  1 run
Maddie Robinson wenr 3 for 3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 doubles, and an 1 inside-the-park home run
Mary Wicke went  1 for 3, 1 run, 2 RBIs,  and1 home run
Baylie Romero went 2 for 3, and 1 RBI
Kyla Ashford went 1 for 3
Lindsey Hudson went 1 for 3
Ashton Duhon went 1 for 1, with a  1 double

With the split, the Bears improved to 11-9, while the Lady Warriors improved to 9-3 on the season. East Central leads the all-time series with 23 wins and 6 losses against Baton Rouge.

The Bears will host the Mississippi Community College Bulldogs on March 5, 2025, for a doubleheader starting at 2 PM.