Lady Dogs top Port Barre for state tourney berth

IOTA – The pressure was on the Iota Lady Bulldogs Thursday afternoon in their Class 3A regional playoff game against Port Barre.
The Lady Red Devils, a No. 22 seed, had knocked off No. 11 Westlake in the first round (4-0) and were upset minded again as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Lady Dogs in the first inning.
The upset bid ended there, however.
The Lady Dogs took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and scored seven more runs later in the game to take a 9-1 victory.
The victory sends the Lady Dogs back to the Fast Pitch 56 Tournament for the first time since 2012, where they will take on Kaplan Friday at Sulphur’s Frasch Park at 2 p.m.
“At the beginning of the game, we were having a tough time,” said IHS coach Leah Andrus. “Not that we haven’t been in a big game like this, but  everyone puts a lot of pressure on themselves to do well in a big game.
“I think once we got the nerves out, we were good to go. After the first inning, we really did well.”
The first inning was definitely rocky for the Lady Dogs.
Iota pitcher Cameron Crochet walked three in the opening frame and the Lady Dogs trailed 1-0 with one out and the bases loaded. Crochet’s defense bailed her out from there, recording the second out on a force at the plate before an line drive ended the inning.
“We were in a jam in that first inning and we were able to get out of that with just one run,” said Andrus. “That says a lot about our pitching and our defense. To fight through something like that is amazing.”
Crochet, who finished with four walks and seven strikeouts, was in control from there. She sat the side down in order over the next two innings and scattered six hits the rest of the way, ending the contest with a strikeout for the final out.
“The first inning, he (umpire) was kind of squeezing Cameron. But I told her not to give in to the strike zone,” said Andrus. “She did what she was told and she did well.”
The Lady Dogs gave Crochet the lead in the second inning when Shydee Johnson walked  and eventually scored when Rhi Stephens lined out. Becca Fantroy, who also walked, scored the go-ahead run on a single by Sarah Johnson.
The game remained close until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lady Dogs exploded for six runs, all with two outs.
Stephens drew a leadoff walk to start the inning before Sarah Johnson reached on a two-out bunt single.
McKenzie Armand added the big blow one batter later when she hit a mammoth blast over the right field wall for a three-run home run. Shydee Johnson then added a two-run double to push the Lady Dogs’ lead to 8-1.
“They switched pitchers in the fourth inning and we were able to jump out on her,” said Andrus. “McKenzie worked the count and she battled until she got the pitch she wanted and she finally got it.”
Shydee Johnson then singled and scored in the bottom of the sixth for the final run of the game.
Sarah Johnson pace the Lady Dogs with three hits and two RBI while Shydee Johnson had two hits, including a double, and two RBI. Lauren Miller and Stephens also had two hits each.
Armand added a home run and three RBI  while Kate Stephens and Aymslee Johnson each had a single.