Italy — Jaclynn Lewis led the Lady Gladiator defense with 12 strikeouts and Madison Washington led Italy’s offense with a triple and two doubles ensuring the girls in gold experienced sweet redemption in their rematch against district rival Itasca.

Before the game, as part of the club’s White Out celebration, softball players from the Italy Youth Athletic Association (IYAA) were recognized with the future of the Lady Gladiator softball program soon to be in their mitts.

Left fielder Britney Chambers found another gear in this one, catching three fly balls for outs and returning uncatchable balls quickly to the infield. Center fielder Kelsey Nelson was equally active with several hustle plays in the outfield but it was her early rip into left field that set the tone for the Lady Gladiators.

As I scanned thru my photos taken during the game, there was one word that kept describing what was I seeing, and that word was, “Effort.” When Chambers was making a catch, Nelson had her back and when Nelson was tracking a ball, right fielder Tara Wallis had her back.

The energy in the infield was also at a high level with everyone communicating and supporting each other. Most of the encouragement was directed at Lewis who was in control of the contest from the start. Itasca attempted a late rally in the top of the seventh-inning but Lewis’s twelfth strikeout ended the comeback hopes of the Lady Wampus Cats.

Chemistry is so important for team sports, whether in the locker room or on the field. With that in mind, head coach Wayne Rowe made a few lineup changes that completely caught Itasca off guard. Senior leader Paige Westbrook played first-base, a position she has experience at, allowing Lillie Perry to play catcher where Perry is most comfortable.

With Westbrook at first, Bailey Eubank returned to second-base where she has played previous seasons and has a comfort zone there. She is vocal and understands how to direct traffic once the ball is in play. Madison Washington remained at shortstop where she always gives 110% and little sister Hannah Washington covered third.

It was a bit of a risk mixing up the lineup before going into such an important game, but the gamble paid off for the Lady Gladiators who have gone from 0-2 in district play to a winning record of 3-2 in the blink of an eye. The Lady Gladiators defeated Avalon, Covington and now Itasca to put themselves back in the hunt.

“For the first time this season, I thought the girls looked like a team before the game, during the warmups and of course during the game when it counted,” commented assistant coach Johnny Jones who was pleased with the new found attitude of all the players.

Great win, Ladies!