Royals win! – STATE BOUND!
Jay outlasts Port St Joe and wins 6-5 in an epic 7th inning rally.
A special afternoon occurred at Jay High School on Tuesday. The Royals punched their ticket to Vero Beach to compete in the final four this Friday and Saturday. In a see-saw game that came down to the wire, the Lady Royals outlasted the Sharks in dramatic fashion.
After Port St. Joe lead off the top of the 3rd inning with a solo homerun, Michaela Stewart answered with a leadoff homerun of her own in the bottom of the 3rd , breaking a back windshield in the process. “Coach Moye has been telling me all year not to be afraid to swing at the first pitch and it worked. It felt really good smashing a windshield too.”
The Lady Royals also did a lot of damage with 2 outs. In the bottom of the 5th, with the scored tied 2-2, the Royals added two more runs with only 1 out to spare. Those runs were setup by a gutsy call to lay a bunt down to advance runners.
And after seeing their lead deteriorate and finding themselves down in the bottom of the 7th 5-4, and facing two outs once again, the Lady Royals kept their poise once again. “Nothing short of going to state was good enough for our team this year. This is what was expected,” said Taylor Moore. Emily Dobson drove in the tying run, and then Harley Tagert, a freshman, batted Emily Dobson in for the winning run.
“We feel ready, well-prepared in heading down to State. Excited, not nervous,” stated senior Sydney Lowery.
The Lady Royals will be playing Friday, vs. Bell in the semi-final in Vero Beach, Fl. Check back for more information on the opponent and for the gameday page.
Port St. Joe 0 0 1 0 1 1 2
Jay 0 0 1 1 2 0 2
Jay (24-3) — Michaela Stewart 3-4, run, 2 RBIs, HR; Harley Taggert 2-4, RBI; Dana Blackmon 2-4, run; Emily Dodson 2-4, run, RBI; Taylor Moore 1-4, run, RBI, double.