The Lee softball team fought off a comeback to defeat 14^th-ranked West Florida, 8-7 on a chilly and windy Saturday afternoon.
 
The Argonauts led off the seventh with a Callan Taylor walk followed by a Kathleen Smiley two run shot to left field, West Florida's third home run of the game, to trim the lead to one. Hill would then draw a walk, and Grace Gilbert doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs.
 
The Lady Flames made a call to the bullpen and brought in junior Erika Greek who slammed the door shut striking out all three batters she faced to wrap up the game and make the final 8-7.
 
"In my mind I was thinking, come in, do your job, take it one pitch at a time, don't try to do too much, and let your defense work," said Greek of the situation going in. "I know that my team had worked hard all game, and I knew they deserved a shot to win," praised Greek.
 
"I just told myself to stay lose and throw hard. That's the kind of pitcher I am. My changeup was working well, and it kept them off balance and from predicting what was coming up next," said the junior college transfer hurler when asked what worked well for her today.
 
The Lady Flames (19-22, 8-12 GSC) got the scoring going with in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Brookynn Frazier to score Lily Hatcher who reached base on a one out walk.
 
West Florida (21-12, 12-8 GSC) answered with a four run third inning capped off by a Jacquelynne Poling three run homerun to take a 4-1 lead. Coach Russell's squad answered with a three run inning to tie it up off a Frazier double to score Hatcher who reached on a walk and a Taylor Moran three run homerun to score Frazier on the next at bat.
 
After Leigh Beatenbough held the Argonauts scoreless in the fourth the senior got some help from her offense. Kayla Gooch and Kayla Louie both reached on bunt singles to third base before Stevie Baird drew the walk to get the bases loaded. Claudia Jones came in to pinch hit and did her job driving in Gooch on a sac fly to left field. Frazier then doubled down to right center to score Louie. Moran finished up the bats with a one out single to score Frazier and Baird.
 
West Florida started the comeback attempt in the fifth inning with a solo homerun from Tiona Hill down the right field line to trim the lead 8-5.
 
"Erika took on a challenge this week…and we felt good about her mindset. It was a tough situation to go into. You hate to put somebody in that situation where you're not sure what they're going to do, but with her mindset this week we felt really confident," said head coach Emily Russell. "She's a different look from Leigh. We felt confident that if she throws like she can she's a very tough pitcher to hit."
 
Beatenbough would go six innings and allow nine hits on seven runs, striking out four batters and got credit for the win to improve to 9-8 on the year.
 
Sarah Maloney got the start in the circle for West Florida and received a no decision over 2.2 innings allowing four runs on four hits, allowing two walks and striking out one. Tori Perkins was charged for the loss lasting only two thirds of an inning. Perkins allowed five hits and four runs while walking and striking out one. Olivia Printiss finished out the final 2.2 allowing only three hits while striking out five of the 11 batters she faced.
 
Frazier and Moran had their bats come alive as Frazier went 3 for 3 and scored twice with three RBI. Moran was a perfect 4 for 4 with four RBI to lead the Lady Flame offensive charge of twelve hits for the day. Gooch was the only other Lee batter to have multiple hits going two for three.
 
The two teams wrap up the crucial three-game conference series tomorrow with a double header beginning at 1 p.m. at Butler Field. The softball team will also be hosting its second annual Daddy/Daughter day. Dads and daughters are encouraged to bring their gloves and will be allowed to play catch in the outfield following the games and meet and greet with the players. Drawings and prizes will be awarded throughout the day for those who register.