HILLSBORO, Mo. — The Lady Raiders' expectations are climbing. Both teams had a come from-behind win as Three Rivers split with defending conference champion Jefferson. The Lady Raiders won the opener 9-2 before losing the nightcap 4-3 on a walk-off single. "We were able to take Game 1 and had a good chance at Game 2, and kind of left one out there," Three Rivers coach Jeff Null said. Ally Law hit her fourth home run of the season in the sixth inning of the opener. Her three run shot with two outs scored pinch runners Kira Cunningham and Sydney Tollison and put the Lady Raiders ahead 4-2. Three Rivers (14-8, 3-1 Region XVI) then added five runs in the seventh, three of them unearned after a pair of errors. Kirstien Loman singled and moved to second on Kabrien Rogers' sacrifice bunt. After Lindsey Elfrink and leadoff hitter Randi Scruggs walked, Kristyn Carpenter smacked a two-run double to left that also ended the day for Jefferson pitcher Corryn Hill. Gracie King and Allison Pingel reached on errors that also scored Scruggs and put Carpenter on third. Law then put Three Rivers ahead 9-2 with a fielder's choice that scored King. Law finished 1 for 3 with four RBIs and a run. "The first game we struggled trying to figure out there pitcher. Ally Law had the big hit to give us the lead and it kind of snowballed from there," Null said. After getting just three runners on base and two hits through the first five innings, Three Rivers had five hits and got 10 runners on base in the final two. King, Pingel and Law, batting 3-5 in the lineup, all reached base in both the sixth and seventh innings. Of Three Rivers' seven hits, Carpenter was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Summer Shockley stuck out 11 with four hits and two walks against in the win. Her strikeout to end the game gave her 100 for the season. Only Taylor Barnes, batting second for the Vikings (17- 6, 2-2 Region XVI), seemed to have Shockley's number. Barnes was 2 for 3 with a triple and two runs. She was the only person to reach third base. Shockley (10-3) never faced more than five batters in an inning and struck out the side in the seventh inning. The nightcap was tied at every step. Carpenter gave Three Rivers the early lead after she doubled in the first inning and scored on King's single.

Down 2-1 in the fourth, Law singled, moved to second on an error, and tied the game on an RBI groundout by Peyton Gunn. King tripled in the fifth and put Three Rivers back in front on Pingel's single, but Jefferson tied it right back up in the bottom of the frame after several defensive mistakes. Abby Rollet singled and took second on an error in left. On an infield popup, all the Lady Raiders went for the ball and nobody covered third, and Rollet advanced. Then she scored on a wild pitch. "That one kind of hurt, let them back in the game," Null said. Shockley, who took the circle in relief in the fourth inning, opened the seventh with a strikeout before Barnes, the only person to reach third in the opener, singled to left. Barnes stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for clean-up hitter Skylure Barlow, a .458 hitter with 10 home runs. With a 1-1 count, Barlow hit a walk-off single past third base that was inches fair to score Barnes. Shockley pitched 3 1/3 innings in the nightcap and allowed four hits and no walks with three strikeouts. She threw 167 pitches in the doubleheader. "She's been a horse. She's throwing well," Null said.

Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic