Flynn goes distance for Indian Land. Warriors need to sweep Wahalla to advance in 3A
Indian Land proved to be road Warriors as they traveled to Chapman and tamed the Panthers to the tune of a 5-3 win Tuesday night in 3A Upper State softball playoff action.
The Wilson sisters got Warrior fans’ hearts started early when they both scored without the benefit of a hit in the first inning. Adriana walked and scored when Daniella’s grounder was thrown away. Daniella scored on a fielder’s choice when she beat the play at the plate.
The Warriors added to their lead in the second inning when Daniella knocked a one-out double and scored on Peyton Darnell’s RBI single.
Savannah Bean brought home Darnell when she smashed a line drive home run to dead center for a 5-0 lead the Warriors would never relinquish.
Getting up early “felt good,” said Warriors head coach Monica Barfield, “because when we played them at home they had our backs against the wall early. Striking first was definitely a plus for us.”
Malya Flynn went the distance for the Warriors, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk.
Starting was a bit of a change for Flynn as she’s usually used in relief.
The Panthers tried to claw their way back into the game getting a single run in the fourth. With Marli Hanks on via a fielder’s choice Kailey Arias blooped a single to center that kicked away and an errant throw to third allowed Hanks to score.
Chapman added two in the fifth. Raegan Metcalf had a lead off double and moved to third on Rylan Snead’s bunt single. Snead stole second. The Panthers scored on an RBI groundout by Brooks Scruggs and a Kara Mason sac bunt scored Snead to make the final 5-3.
But that would be it as Flynn steadied herself and closed out the win.
“We were hitting pretty good,” said Flynn, “we got that 5-0 lead and that got me pretty relaxed and the defense played well.”
“It was a total team effort,” said Barfield.
The Warriors reward for Tuesday’s win is a trip to Wahalla today, where they’ll need to win two games to move on to the Upper State Championship game.
This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 9:09 AM with the headline "Flynn goes distance for Indian Land. Warriors need to sweep Wahalla to advance in 3A."