The Alliance softball team played their second home game on Tuesday, August 30, against Gering. The lady bulldogs only have one game left at home on September 20 verses Scottsbluff. This night is also senior night.
The JV game started off with the first inning remaining tied 0-0. With the second inning underway, Jaycee Acosta walked the first two batters. The third Gering batter hit a single, bringing in the first two runs of the game, allowing Gering to gain ground on Alliance. When up to bat, the lady bulldogs were struggling to get on base and catch up to Gering. In the top of the third, number 10 from Gering hit a home run, bringing in three runs for Gering, making the score 5-0. Within the next two innings, Gering scored enough runs to 10 run rule Alliance, causing the game to come to an early end.
After a devastating loss for the JV, the Varsity were determined to step up and beat Gering. In the first inning, pitcher Grace Tolstedt threw two strike outs, and Jaycee Acosta snagged the last out with a pop fly hit right to her. The bottom of the first inning started and immediately a delay was called as a lightning was spotted in the distance. The lady bulldogs got pumped up to continue the game by dancing in the dugout and getting the crowd involved.
With the umps calling off the lightning delay, Alliance continued with the same batter and a runner on base. Before the rain delay, Grace Tolstedt hit a double, and Brandi Seebohm curtesy ran for her. Jaycee Acosta came back up to bat, count 2-2. Acosta stepped back up to bat, and hit a double and scoring Seebohm. The inning continued with Janaye Shoemaker and Isabel Aguallo getting on base in scoring position and Elise Stoike, Samantha Carrillo, and Sariah Grant getting out.
Both bulldog teams stayed consistent in their scores, batting, and defense throughout the next few innings. In the 7th inning, the Alliance Bulldogs made one too many mistakes and let the Gering Bulldogs score 12, making the score at that point 7-16. When up to bat, Alliance knew that they weren’t done yet, and not to give up. As each individual person stepped up to bat, each knew what they had to do to help their team potentially win. With all of the excitement going on from the dugout and the crowd, it transferred to the players and they kicked it into gear. Alliance ended up scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the seventh, ending the game with Alliance losing 13-16.
Dawg Pound member McKenna Romick commented about the game, “ The game was filled with tons of excitement from start to finish! Although it was a heartbreaking loss, it was a game that no player should hang their head over. The Dawg pound had so much fun cheering the softball girls on as we watched all the hard work the girls have put into their sport.”
Senior Isabel lAguallo stated, “We played a really good game, we fought hard and didn’t give u p when we easily could have. I believe we will accomplish great things and that this team will become the team to beat.”