He didn’t realize it would be this big.
Lanford, a left-handed-hitting senior right fielder, slapped a clutch two-out fifth-inning single to left to drive in Kalee Young for the decisive run in the Lady Tigers’ 3-2 triumph over Westwood on Thursday night at Lady Tiger Field in the opening game of the best-of-three set.
The series shifts to Westwood tonight at 6, with a third game to follow if the Lady Warriors (20-9) win.
“Jana hasn’t had that much playing time, but I thought she might play a key role,” said Blackburn, whose team moved to 25-6. “She came up with the game-winning RBI. You couldn’t ask for a better game.”
Sophomore pitcher Jenna Roach (14-3) went the distance in her playoff debut, scattering six hits, striking out four batters and hitting two. Brittany Mack (15-7) suffered the loss as the Lady Tigers got to her for eight hits. Mack fanned six, walked one and hit one.
Belton saw its 2-0 lead erased in the fourth when Tiffany Bjerke mashed a two-run double off the left-field fence.
Despite that dagger, the Lady Tigers were generally unaffected by the seeming momentum shift.
“It was just a 0-0 game again,” said Belton catcher Young, who went 2-for-4. “It didn’t change anything. We stayed calm because we had the assurance that we were going to win.”
In the fifth, Young led off by reaching when Bjerke, her catching counterpart, dropped her popup just in front of the plate. Young went to second on a fielder’s choice and to third when Cat Curry got aboard on an error.
Lanford stuck an 0-1 pitch into left to bring in Young. All of the game’s runs came with two outs. The Lady Tigers’ three RBI came from the bottom three hitters in their order - KC Warehime, Lanford and Victoria Alcozer.
Roach allowed leadoff doubles to Alyson Calman and Bjerke in the sixth and seventh, respectively, but retired the next three in order both times. Bjerke was at third with one out in the seventh, but Roach got Chrissy Short to pop up to Curry at first and Emily Prehoda grounded out to Brianna Bozon at third to end it.
“It was our defense,” Blackburn said. “I expected us to hit (Mack). If we hit the ball on the ground we force them to make some plays.
“Defense is our backbone and we proved we can win two close games against good teams,” he added, referring also to a 2-1 victory over Waco Midway in a warmup game Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers managed to escape unscathed in the first inning, in which the Lady Warriors loaded the bases with one out. Back-to-back groundouts preserved the scoreless inning.
“Jenna pitched an amazing game,” Young said. “That first inning gave us the extra incentive to play hard defense and know that when things got tough we could overcome it.”
Belton picked up its first run in the second when Alcozer bounced a single through the left side to score Curry from second.
The Lady Tigers made it 2-0 in the third. Young chopped a one-hopper over Short at shortstop. The ball managed to get in the left-center gap for a standup double. Warehime later drove a 1-2 pitch into left to bring in courtesy runner Sierra Cosper.
Belton will attempt to close it out this evening on the Lady Warriors’ turf in hopes of playing the Klein Oak-The Woodlands College Park series winner next week.
“I’m excited to see what we do when we go up against them again,” Blackburn said. “We just have to put pressure on them and not get put back on our heels. The pressure is on them.”
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