Lady Dawgs move to 3-1 in 12-6A with late rally over Ellison

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

After dropping their district opener to Belton in a 20-15 slugfest, the Lady Dawgs have outscored their opponents 46-12 in their last three district contests, including Tuesday’s 15-11 come-from-behind win over the Ellison Lady Eagles on Tuesday afternoon after blanking the Killeen Lady Roos 16-0 Monday afternoon.
The Lady Dawgs jumped on Ellison early with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and six more in the bottom of the second.
An RBI triple by Larisa Perez scored Emma Wasiak who reached on a walk to start the inning. A single by Lynsey Robinson and an Ellison error then made a three-run lead.
A walk by Channing Perry and a single by Meagan Hunt put runners on before Perry stole home and Perez connected on an inside the park home run for a 6-0 lead.
A double by Iliana Buitron, an Ellison error, and a hit batsman again got runners aboard for the Lady Dawgs before an RBI walk by Haylee Jennings and a sacrifice fly by Perry gave the Lady Dawgs a 9-0 lead after two innings.
The Lady Dawgs saw their nine-run lead evaporate when the Lady Eagles scored a run in each of the next two innings before exploding for eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 10-9 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
An error and a pair of walks allowed the Lady Eagles to fill the bases before another Cove error allowed the first run of the inning.  
RBI doubles by Elizabeth Eakin and Audson along with walks by Morales and Smith, a passed ball, and an error knotted the game at 9-9 before an RBI double by Goff gave the Lady Eagles the 10-9 lead after 5 ½ innings.
It didn’t take long for the Lady Dawgs to respond.
An error by Ellison allowed Perry to reach before an RBI single by Hunt tied the game at 10-10. 
A sacrifice bunt by Wasiak and a bunt for a single by Laila LaCapra put runners on the base paths and a sacrifice fly by Buitron scored Hunt to give Cove back the lead at 11-10.
An RBI double by Robinson added another run for a 12-10 Copperas Cove lead heading tinto the sixth inning.
After a four-up, three-down top of the sixth, a single by Jennings put a runner on and an RBI triple to left field by Perry scored Jennings for a three-run lead. 
Hunt then connected on an RBI double to score Perry for a four-run advantage.
An error by Ellison then allowed LaCapra to reach and Hunt to score for the final Lady Dawg run.
A two-out RBI double by Goff got one of the runs back in the top of the seventh but that is as close as they would get in the 15-11 final.
Perez was a perfect 2 for 2 with two runs, three RBIs, a triple, and a home run while Hunt was 3 for 5 with three runs, two RBIs and a double to lead the Lady Dawgs’ batters. Robinson (2 for 4, 2RBIs, 2B), Perry (1 for 3, 3R, 2RBI, 3B, BB), Buitron (1 for 4, 2R, RBI, 2B), LaCapra (1 for 3, R), and Jennings (1 for 2, R, RBI, BB) accounted for the rest of Cove’s 11 hits.
Goff was 3 for 4 with a run, three RBIs, two doubles, a triple, and a walk to lead Ellison. Eakin added 2 for 3 hitting with a run, two RBIs, a double and a walk to lead Ellison’s 11-hit night.
Robinson picked up the win in the circle for Cove. She allowed six earned runs on eight hits while striking out three and walking four in six innings. Wasiak allowed two earned runs on three hits in one inning of relief.
Morgan and Rogers allowed a combined eight earned runs on 11 hits in the loss. 
The Lady Dawgs get a break on Friday before heading to Bryan Tuesday to face the Lady Vikings. The Lady Dawgs return home next Friday against the Harker Heights Lady Knights.