After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Milton, Pine Forest was happy to have turned things around on Friday. They walked away with a 7-4 victory over the Escambia Gators. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Pine Forest also won the last time the pair played back in May of 2023.
Ellie Rudd spent all eight innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up 12 Ks.
On the hitting side, Pine Forest's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Sarah Rudd, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. Mary Brockett was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
On Escambia's side, Madelynn Ladner was huge no matter where she played even without the win. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over eight innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Ladner was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Laney Moss was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Halina Bell, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with.
The victory got Pine Forest back to even at 4-4. As for Escambia, their record now sits at 4-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Pine Forest will challenge Pensacola Catholic at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Escambia, they will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Baker at 6:00 p.m. on April 2nd.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps