By Allen Hamrick
The Lady Panthers set fire to the diamond this past week putting a thumpin’ on visiting Meadow Bridge. The Ladies were coming off a bitter loss against Buffalo that left the taste of polecat in their mouths. They needed some softball Listerine, and that’s where Meadow Bridge came in. It was a double header and game one found the girls in a pickle early trying to figure out the ultra-slow pitching speed of the Meadow Bridge pitcher.
The ball came in looking like the biggest watermelon to hit, but after seeing 60 mph fast balls, the Lady Panthers couldn’t quite get the hang of a 2-mph fast ball. Not to be outdone, the Lady Panther bats eventually heated up and between walks and the business end of the bat, they started seeing some action. A Meadow Bridge change of pitchers saw the return of the fast ball, albeit a wild return, but the Lady Panthers picked up on it and started driving in runs. One more change of pitchers by Meadow Bridge ended the game as the pitcher was bowling the home plate not giving the Lady Panthers the chance to hit but they definitely got their steps in hiking around the plates.
When the towel was thrown in the Lady Panthers got the win 16-1. Pitching for the Lady Panthers was Brooklyn Morton who smoked the Meadow Bridge hitters like a cheap cigar. Between games there was a pause so that one of the best players to hit the field was heralded. Emma Arnold, the only senior on the team, received a sendoff like no other. She has been there for the team from a comrade in the trenches of the softball diamond to the hearts of all her teammates. She has been a glove on the field and a friend when a friend was needed. Most of all she is a great player who has given 100 percent to the Lady Panther war effort. She will be missed on the field but will never go away in the hearts of her teammates.
Afterwards, the second game came and went like a tornado, and Meadow Bridge crumbled in the whirlwind. Game two was no different than the first; the Lady Panthers got down to business and took the game to the house beating them 18-3. This game was just as junkyard dog as the first one, resembling softball a little bit at a time just so fans got their money’s worth. Rylee Murphy was bringing the heat in the game like a flamethrower and also brought the napalm, burning the Meadow Bridge hitters. The season will not last much longer as the Lady Panthers will play Nitro this week before Regionals start the week after. Get out and catch a game.
