Lady Bison split games over Break

First baseman Meredith Shaw stretches for a catch from teammate Jordyn Briscoe -- and makes the out. Van’Go’photo It might have been Spring Break last week, but it was business as usual for the Buffalo Lady Bison. The Lady Bison hosted Trinity on Tuesday and traveled to Corrigan-Camden on Friday. With a win and a loss, the Lady Bison are 3-2 with two games remaining in the first half of district play.

Even though the rains never let up Tuesday, the Lady Bison hit the diamond. Getting to the fifth inning was the plan so the effort could count as a game if the weather did not cooperate. Rachel Morris struck out the first three batters in quick succession. Buffalo sent ten batters to the plate during the first inning and rang up six runs. Lead off Jordyn Briscoe drew a walk, then stole three bases to score. Jennifer Pate also drew a walk. She scored on Nikki Dorman's line drive to left field. Morris drew a walk as did Heather Sigert and Lindsey McGill. Meredith Shaw's sacrifice scored another run, and Heather Egan got on after being hit by a pitch.

Curtisha Woods led off for Trinity in the second inning. The third baseman stoked a single down the left baseline, but throwing errors allowed her to score. Trinity's next batter hit a double to left center and scored after two stolen bases to cut the lead to 6-2. Morris struck out the next three batters.

With one out, Dorman, Morris and McGill drew walks. Dorman was able to score, but the Lady Bison stranded two.

Trinity drew a walk to start the third inning. Pate fired to Shaw to tag the runner out at first. Morris struck out the next two batters to return Buffalo to the plate.

With two outs in the bottom of the third, Briscoe hit a single to center. Pate followed with a double to score Briscoe for an 8-2 Buffalo lead. Trinity picked up the third out, so Buffalo left a runner on.

As the rain intensified in the fourth, so did the Lady Bison. Dorman fielded an infield popup between two strike outs by Morris. Coach Warren Ringland implemented a strategy in the fourth to ensure the effort was not for naught. “Swing at everything,” was the order of the day as the Lady Bison tried to reach the fifth inning. Morris had a pop up to second before Sigert and McGill struck out.

The fifth inning went quickly as well. Four batters reached the plate. Shaw fielded a bunt to Sigert for the first out. Morris connected with Shaw for the second out. The next batter advanced when she was hit by a pitch. Briscoe found Shaw for the final out.

Shaw stroked one to center, but a savvy centerfielder made the catch. Egan followed with a lick to left field for the second out. Courtney Cunningham's effort was nabbed by the short stop for the third out. With five innings complete, the teams were no longer at the mercy of the weather.

Morris began the sixth inning with a strike out. The next batter hit a triple, but was caught in a rundown between third and home for the second out. Trinity's next batter managed a single, but a fly to right field ended the inning with one on base. Trinity's defense stepped up in the sixth inning as the first three batters did not reach first.

Buffalo's defense answered in the seventh. Although the first Trinity batter reached on an error, a fielder's choice took out the lead runner on the next attempt. The third batter struck out, and Pate found Briscoe for the final out on an attempted steal.

Morris picked up the win, striking out twelve and walking one.

For the first five and a half innings in Corrigan- Camden, it was a defensive battle. Neither team scored through the first two innings. The Lady Bison started a two out rally in the third when Briscoe drew a walk. Pate singled with a line drive to center and scored Briscoe for a 1-0 Bison lead.

The Lady Bulldogs reached on an error in the third. A slap hit between third and short gave Corrigan- Camden two runners on base. A pop up to Dorman earned an out. A quick thinking McGill covered second from center and connected with Dorman for the second out. Dorman fired to Shaw at first for the third out.

Morris tagged her first pitch of fourth inning over the right center fence. The solo round trip gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead. The Lady Bulldogs' defense took care of the next three batters.

Morris struck out the first batter in the bottom of the fourth. Centerfielder McGill made a sliding catch worthy of the Jumbo-tron for the second out. Morris fielded to Shaw for the final out.

Cunningham managed a single in the fifth, but was out on an attempted steal. The Lady Bison headed back to the field after three batters.

The first Lady Bulldog batter drew a walk in the bottom of the fifth. McGill hosed a fly to center for the first out. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to second. With two outs, Corrigan attempted a slap to score a run, but Pate found Sigert covering first for the third out.

Pate led off in the sixth inning and sent a long ball to the centerfield fence. An easy double, Pate was thrown out at third. Dorman singled to center before Morris's lick to left field was caught for the second out. Second base bobbled Sigert's hit which advanced Dorman to third. McGill made contact, but the pitcher fielded the ball and from her knees, made the out at first.

The wheels fell off in the bottom of the sixth. The first batter made contact with a slap hit to get on. Consecutive singles scored the first runner, and a walk loaded the bases. The Lady Bison attempted a throw out at home on the fielder's choice, but the Lady Bulldog beat the throw to tie the game. A sacrifice fly to centerfield scored the next run to give C-C a 3-2 lead. The Lady Bulldogs scored again when the Lady Bison missed a tag at home, but threw out the runner at third. Morris struck out the next batter to stop the bleeding.

Defense prevailed in the top of the seventh as Corrigan Camden held on to win 4-2. Morris struck out four in the effort and gave up six hits. Corrigan's pitcher struck out six and gave up five hits.