West Morgan completes comeback over Danville to punch ticket to Regionals

May 5—CADDO — Bottom of the sixth, staring at a 1-0 deficit, Chasity Rikard gathered herself before she stepped into the batters box.

"I was 0-for-2 and right before she threw that pitch," Rikard said. "I thought to myself, 'Hit this ball for your team. Get your team started.'"

Danville's Kate Randolph had just retired nine Rebels straight. But Rikard hit a double to start the inning and sparked three straight West Morgan doubles in the sixth.

The Rebels took the lead 2-1 then Rikard pitched a shutout seventh inning to claim the Class 4A, Area 13 tournament semi-final on Monday.

"Once Chasity hit that line drive in the bottom of the sixth to start the inning, that just changed the whole game for us." said West Morgan head coach Morgan Weatherwax.

With the win, West Morgan punches its ticket to the North Regional tournament in Florence next week. The Rebels will see the winner of Danville and Good Hope on Tuesday at 2 p.m. for the area championship.

"We're really young. We only have two seniors and one starting junior," West Morgan's Payson Terry said. "I think this is only the start of something."

It was a pitcher's duel most of the way.

Randolph and West Morgan pitcher Alyssa Cleveland kept trading scoreless innings to start until the Hawks finally scored first in the top of the third off a Hallie Coker triple.

Cleveland then held Danville scoreless for three more innings. In the top of the fifth, she went 3-up-3-down in only seven pitches.

"Having my defense behind me just gives me a lot of confidence," she said. "I feel like my team trusts me, and they're really good in the field."

Next week will mark the Rebels' first regional appearance since 2024.

"I think this is a really special team," Rikard said. "I mean, you can't find a team that has better chemistry than us."

But Weatherwax said this team doesn't plan on just a regional tournament. They're capable of much more.

"I think if we keep rolling the ball like we have the past couple of weeks, we'll be in Oxford," she said.

Terry was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. West Morgan's Hatleigh White had an RBI.

Cleveland pitched six innings, allowing only three hits with four strikeouts. Danville's Randolph pitched the complete game with six strikeouts and five hits. — Danville 2, East Lawrence 0: Kate Randolph threw a one-hit complete game with 11 strikeouts and one walk, leading Danville into the area semifinals and sending East Lawrence to the losers bracket in the first game of the day.

Danville's Brooke Wauford drove in a run with a double. Danville's Jada Weaver had an RBI. East Lawrence's Adilynn Nelms picked up the Eagles' only hit. — West Morgan 4, Good Hope 2: The Rebels fought off a final-inning Good Hope comeback to win their first game of the day and advance to the area semifinals against Danville.