YATES CENTER — Yates Center High’s bats came to life at just the right time Tuesday.
The Wildcats broke a 4-4 deadlock with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth, the big blows coming on three straight doubles from Lauren McConaghie, Cayten Cummings and Kinley Morrison to lead 13-4.
Fredonia didn’t go down quietly, closing the gap to 13-10 before Yates Center’s Avery Eakin ended the rally, and the 13-10 victory, with a strikeout.
The Wildcat offense continued to produce hits aplenty in the nightcap, a 9-5 victory.
The wins improve Yates Center to 6-12 on the season, moving the Wildcats up to seventh in their Class 2-1A regional bracket. Yates Center has two more doubleheaders on the schedule to wrap up the regular season, at Eureka on Thursday and Uniontown next Monday.
Cummings paced Yates Center’s offense in the opener, going 3-for-4 with a double. McConaghie added a single and double, Mylin Tidd chipped in with a pair of singles. Jaycie Randall, Eakin, Kamdyn Trahan, Aubrey Chambers and Peyton Petit all had singles
Eakin pitched six innings, allowing nine hits with nine strikeouts. Morrison also pitched an inning, giving up one hit with three strikeouts.
GAME 2 was a battle of momentum swings.
Fredonia jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead before Cummings hit a two-out single, advanced to second on an error and scored on Morrison’s RBI single. Eakin followed with another single to bring home Morrison to tie the score at 2-2.
Tidd doubled with one out in the second and eventually scored on a passed ball to give Yates Center the lead. Randall reached on an error and eventually stole home to make it 4-2.
The Yellowjackets responded with one in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead in the fourth.
Cummings’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning pulled things even once again before Petit stole home and Randall scored on an error to push the Wildcats ahead for good, 7-5.
Randall and McConaghie added RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth for the final tallies.
Morrison pitched four innings, allowing seven hits with three strikeouts. Eakins also pitched once again, tossing three scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits and striking out five.
Randall, Cummings, Eakin, Jayda Rice and Trahan all had two hits to lead the Wildcat offense. Tidd had a double. McConaghie and Morrison each had singles.