By Rafael Marquez
A defensive meltdown in the fourth and fifth innings cost the Lehman Lady Lobos in a 12-4 loss to the Bowie Bulldogs at home on Friday.
The Lady Lobos scored first as Clair Reavis scored off an RBI single from Kinsley Noriega in Lehman’s opening at bat.
Despite Bowie loading the bases in the third inning, the score stood at 1-0 Lehman until the start of the fourth inning.
The start of the fourth inning saw Bowie tie the game at 1-1 thanks to a botched throw between the Lehman catcher and third baseman.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs on the board, Bowie hit a line drive to the dead spot between second and center field. The ball bounced before Lehman could field it, which allowed the Bowie runner on third to score.
Just like that, the tide had turned and Bowie led 2-1. The Lady Bulldogs padded their lead in the fifth inning.
After a personnel change, Bowie’s leadoff batter hit a hard ground ball that bounced through Lehman senior Aleza Ruiz’s glove. Bowie got two more runners on base, which turned into two additional runs thanks to confusion in the Lehman defense.
By the time the fifth inning was over, the score stood at 7-1 Bowie.
Lehman battled back, scoring a run on the heels of Clair Reavis and again on the heels of Lauren Pizzini.
The score stood at 7-3 at the bottom of the 6th and it looked like Lehman was revitalized and ready to scrap the game back.
But Bowie placed the kibosh on their comeback.
The seventh inning saw the Lady Lobos turn to freshman pitcher Kaylee Wipff, who relieved starter Karina Reta.
But Wipff seemed uneasy in the circle. She also did not get much help from her backfield. Bowie’s offense took advantage; the Lady Dawgs tallied five more runs in the frame to take a 12-3 lead.
Lehman attempted one last rally. It was kick started by a Wipff hit, a single that went over the Bowie second baseman’s head. Wipff later scored the last run for Lehman, but the Lady Lobos were unable to make up the difference.
Lehman head coach Markita Adams said the team needs to find a way to not carry over events from one inning to the next and needs to focus on moving runners and scoring.
