SOFTBALL: Harlem upset breaks up West Laurens’ five-year region win streak

In the shocker of shockers, West Laurens saw its five season-long region win streak suddenly and unexpectedly come to an end in a 9-7 loss at Harlem Thursday afternoon. 

The Raiders, whose last loss against a region foe was to Rutland in the fall of 2020 had rattled off 55-straight victories in league play before the surprising upset, which also smashed their current streak of five, which continued in exciting weekend wins over Lowndes and Wayne County and a 12-0 rout of Baldwin leading up. 

The Raiders will host Vidalia on Monday before getting back to work in region 4-AAA against Cross Creek at home on Tuesday. 

West led Thursday’s hit count 10-5, but couldn’t come up with a few more it needed late after a fairly comfortable early lead vanished in a rough fifth inning. 

The Raiders were on top 6-2 just before things came apart, with Harlem striking for seven to jump in front. 

Walks to follow up Olivia Winczewski’s leadoff single loaded the bases for two early Bulldog runs on a Samantha Burns RBI single, then a walk. 

But West Laurens couldn’t bounce back, as Harlem continued the rally with a game-tying RBI by Khloe Dent and a two-run error to grab the lead following a pitching change. Alice Bullard finished it off with a single to plate one more for the home team, and make it 9-6, before a groundout finally ended the inning. 

The shell-shocked Raiders, now up against the ropes, could come up with only one additional run with their six remaining outs. The sixth proceeded 1-2-3 before a lone hit early in the seventh, as CheyAnn Phillips blasted a solo homer. 

Demmie Moss also reached on an error to get a tying run to the plate, but Harlem’s Perrian McGowan got a flyout and groundout to end the game. 

Over the weekend, West Laurens was able to pull out two wins in some similar thrillers as it defeated Lowndes, 9-4, and Wayne County, 7-6 in eight innings. 

They came from slightly behind to win the first of Saturday’s doubleheader after giving up two early runs, but got to work in the third on singles by Maggie Shea Lord and Chandler Malone that helped load the bases for sacrifice flies by Phillips and K.K. Wilson. 

It was scoreless from there till the bottom of the fifth, when the Raiders went on top for good on a single by Malone, double by Jacely Hogan and bases-loaded walk drawn by Phililps. 

Collins singled up middle for two RBIs and a 4-2 lead, Madison Brown coaxed a bases-loaded walk to take it to 5-2, and Lord and Allie Sahli followed with two more RBIs. 

Lowndes got two in the sixth. Hogan led off with a double and scored on a wild pitch to give the Raiders their only other run. 

A Wayne rally to equalize, after West’s 5-2 lead through five, made for an exciting finish in the finale. 

The Yellow Jackets scored three to tie it in the top of seven,  kept West Laurens off the board in the last of regulation and then got one in the top of the eighth before Hogan hit a walk-off two-run blast to end the day. 

Phillips’ two-RBI single keyed a two-run first inning to get West Laurens up early. Malone, Phillips and Collins added hits, the last for an RBI to add to the lead. 

Phillips’ two-run blast in the fifth made it a 5-2 lead before Wayne County responded with three runs on a leadoff homer from Kallie Scott and RBIs by Ellie Harrison and Avery Smith. 

West scored 10 of its 12 in the first inning of its shutout of Baldwin at home. Conniya Reeves had the only Baldwin hit against pitcher Peyton Crabb, who struck out six batters. 

The Raiders had 11 hits. Baldwin had five errors.