ROME, Ga. - LaGrange's 2013 season came to an end Sunday against Berry at Ford Field. The Panthers were edged 10-9 by the Vikings in eight innings in the day's second game after losing 14-0 in the first game.
The Panthers finished the season with a 20-22 record. They finished third in the USA South Tournament, placing three players on the USA South all-conference teams.
The games were the final ones for four seniors: Kelbi Burgering, Kayla Folds, Kayla Grizzle and Laura Webber.
Folds (13-9) started both games, going the distance in the second game. Burgering had two hits in the second game, while Webber had a hit and an RBI in the same game. Grizzle started at catcher in the first game.
Folds finished with 35 career wins, tied for the fourth most by a Panther pitcher. She is third on the school career list with 331 strikeouts and fourth with 421-2/3 innings pitched.
The Panthers finished the second game with 13 hits after being held to three in the first game. Danielle Newbern had three hits and scored three runs. In addition to Burgering, Courtney Beshel and Christy Flick also had two hits. Flick had three RBIs, while Beshel had two.
The Panthers exploded for five runs in the third inning to take a 5-2 lead. Beshel drove in the first two runs of the inning with a double. Two batters later, Flick singled to left center, driving in two more runs. She scored the final run as Folds reached on a Viking error.
Berry (27-9) cut the Panthers' lead to 5-4 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Panthers came back in the fifth with RBI singles from Webber and Kara Patterson to go up 7-4.
Leading 7-6, the Panthers pushed across two runs in the sixth inning. Beshel led off the inning with her second double. She scored on an error as Danielle Newbern stole second. Newbern later scored on Flick's ground for a 9-6 lead.
The Vikings sent the game into extra innings with three runs in the seventh. They got the winning run in the eighth off Folds with one out.
