Held helps PH softball defeat Frankton

By Rick Teverbaugh

April 29, 2008 10:32 pm

— PENDLETON — Obviously, the Frankton softball team’s strategy Tuesday was to not let Pendleton Heights slugger Erin Falkenberry damage the Eagles’ chances to win.
So Falkenberry was walked each of the three times she came to the plate. She scored each time, as the Clss 4A No. 10 Arabians defeated Class 2A No. 13 Frankton, 10-3.
One reason that strategy didn’t work was the presence of PH catcher Tiffany Held in the cleanup spot behind Falkenberry.
Held had a single to drive in two runs in the Arabians’ five-run first inning, a sacrifice fly in the second and a two-run double in the fourth.
“It’s such respect for Erin that they won’t pitch to her,” said Held. “But it really makes me think that they don’t believe I can hit, and I know I can hit, too.”
The Eagles apparently are convinced now as well.
“Maybe I should have walked both of them (Falkenberry and Held) and let No. 5, 6 and 7 beat me,” said Frankton coach Jeremy Parker.
“Tiff’s been hot,” PH coach Scott Hall said of Held’s current streak. “She’s in a good rhythm. We don’t focus on average, we want quality at-bats.”
Pendleton put together four hits in that five-run opening, with Casey Jamerson, Shonda Garringer and Halee Myers getting hits in addition to Held. The home team put up two more in the bottom of the second on Held’s sacrifice fly and Stephanie Robinson’s single.
Arabians starting pitcher Lindsey Beisser faced the minimum number of Eagles in the first three innings, getting four strikeouts in the process.
“Beisser can throw hard,” Hall said. “We need for her to get ahead in the count more.”
After three innings, ahead 7-0, PH pulled Beisser in favor of Lainie Dishroon. The Arabians picked Dishroon’s first inning of relief to play their only bad defense of the game.
Frankton’s Allison Parr beat out an infield roller, and the throw was wide of Falkenberry at first base. The bounding ball also got past the right fielder, who was backing up the play, and allowed Parr to motor to third.
A single by Brittany Lawler broke the drought for the Eagles. Two outs later, Lawler scored on Lexi Seager’s single. Seager went to second on the throw home, and scored on Bre Shively’s single. Shively moved to second on a wild throw home, but Dishroon escaped further trouble.
PH answered in the bottom of the fourth with three runs of its own to put the game out of reach. Held’s double was the big blow by Myers that capped the scoring with her second single of the contest.
Dishroon gave up just two singles over the final three innings and struck out the game’s final two hitters.
“We had a day of practice on Monday and that really helped us,” Hall said. “We were able to work on a few things.”
Pendleton Heights (15-5) will not get any practice days until at least next week. The Arabians go to Blackford today to continue a stretch of five games in five days.
The Eagles play at Eastern Hancock today before starting a string of important Central Indiana Conference games on Thursday at Alexandria.

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