COVINGTON – Thursday was the most unfortunate loss so far this season, and it just wasn’t the final numbers on the scoreboard in a 12-11 defeat to Bethel.
The biggest loss was a gruesome injury suffered by Covington’s pitcher, sophomore Whitney Burns – an injury that happened when she was drilled by a line drive up the middle. The severeness of the injury isn’t yet determined, but it caused a lot of concern by her teammates and Buccaneer fans who were present.
Hopefully the injury isn’t severe and Burns somehow is able to make it back this season. Still, Burns is the second pitcher who suffered a major injury this season, the first being freshman Cassidy Iddings, who is out for the year.
Things started off horribly for Covington was Bethel plated three runs in the first inning and then six more in the second inning after the Lady Buccs scored two runs in the bottom half of the first.
The Lady Bees then score two more runs in the top of the third to take an amazing 11-2 lead against the same Covington team who defeated them 15-1 in five innings three weeks ago.
After the Lady Buccs scored two runs in the bottom of the third, Whitney Burns suffered her injury in the fourth inning, which at the time seemed like it was the end of all hope for Covington.
But this young Covington team has so much grit and determination that there was no quit.
The Lady Buccs battled back by scoring two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the deficit to 11-8 with two innings left.
Unfortunately, Covington had golden opportunities to put more runs on the board as it had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fourth and failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Then, after scoring two runs in the fifth, the Lady Buccs left two runners stranded in that inning as well.
Bethel plated a run in the top of the sixth without connecting on a single hit in the inning against pitcher Jayda McClure, who didn’t allow one hit after replacing Burns in the fourth.
Covington went three-and-out in the bottom of the sixth on two pop-ups and a strikeout, but was able to shut Bethel down to stay in contention heading into the bottom of the seventh trailing 12-8.
The Lady Buccs continued to battle in the bottom of the seventh by scoring three runs to close the gap to 12-11 with a runner in scoring position. Unfortunately, much like other golden opportunities to put more runs on the board, the Lady Buccs couldn’t take advantage of it and left the runner stranded as Bethel escaped with a 12-11 win.
A credit does go the Bethel, a team who has improved so much since the last time the two teams played. The Lady Bees played with a lot of enthusiasm and took advantage of the opportunities they needed to put runs on the board.
Overall, Covington left ten runners stranded throughout the game, while Bethel left just five.
Covington outhit Bethel 17 to 11, but the difference in the game was the runners who crossed the plate.
The loss drops Covington’s record to 8-4 overall and 6-1 in the TRC, while Bethel improves to 4-8 on the season and 3-3 in the league.
With an unfortunate evening in the books, the Lady Buccs have a short time to recover as they host New Bremen tomorrow. This is another opportunity for this group of young kids to showcase their resiliency.
PRAY FOR WHITNEY BURNS!
