Salem knocked off Riverside 6-2, ending the Lady Rebel's hopes of a state tournament trip in Saturday's 2A Regional Softball Tournament at Melbourne.
Salem scored first on a two out two run RBI single by Ashley Brankel in the bottom of the first inning. Riverside tied the game in the top of the fourth. Holly Dudley singled and scored on an RBI hit by Katey Campbell. Campbell scored the Lady Rebels second run when Brankel, who picked up the win on the mound, uncorked a wild pitch.
Salem took the lead for good, 3-2 with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth on a passed ball. The Lady Bears added two more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to round out the scoring.
"We played well, we just needed a break or two to win. Salem has a good team and I thought we gave them a good game." said Riverside Coach T.J. Eakins.
"After a really tough start to the season, we finished the year playing really well. We're the king of team that has to make every play and during the tournaments we almost did. I am very proud of our finish. The girls deserved it," concluded Eakins.
The Lady Rebels took home the consolation game of the 2A-3 District Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Monette with a 12-8 victory over Marmaduke.
Riverside went into the bottom of the sixth inning, trailing 8-7, but scored five runs to pull out the win. The Lady Rebels were led at the plate by Katey Campbell, who went 2-3 with four RBIs. The senior had a double and scored twice. Becca Frayer went 2-3 with three runs scored and three stolen bases. Beth Anne Snyder went 2-3 with a run scored and one RBI while Katie Brown was 2-4 with one RBI. Holly Dudley was 2-3 with an RBI and two runs scored while Morgan Emery went 1-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Kaitlyn Staggs doubled and Michelle Cobb singled to round out the Lady Rebel hitting attack. Staggs went the distance on the mound to pick up the win.
The Lady Rebels took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday afternoon's semi-final matchup against regular season conference champion Marked Tree, but watched the Lady Indians rally for three runs to take a 4-3 victory.
Morgan Emery led the Lady Rebels, going 2-3 with one run scored and four stolen bases. Katey Campbell was 1-2 with three stolen bases while Holly Dudley and Beth Anne Snyder both went 1-3.
The Lady Rebels took a 1-0 lead after the first inning before Marked Tree tied the game with a run in the fifth. Riverside scored twice in the top of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead before Marked Tree came from behind in the seventh for the win.