It has been feast or famine for the Rockdale Lady Tigers, but here lately, they have been chowing down on league opponents.
The Lady Tigers clobbered Franklin 11-2 on a sun-splashed Wednesday afternoon in a District 20-3A spring break contest to with their third straight game.
Unfortunately, that streak came to a halt Tuesday after beng shutout 10-0 by Lexington on the road.
The Lady Tigers stand 12-8-1 overall and 3-3 in district play.
Rockdale closes out the first half of league play Friday by hosting Cameron in a crucial contest.
Against Franklin, Knighton ran her record to 8-1 on the season in allowing the single hit—a single to left from Holland Helton in the third inning.
“Cailey did a great job executing pitches,” said Rockdale Coach Erin Palmer. “What really made the difference in this game was location. She threw to her zones and it kept the hitters from being able to get solid contact.”
The 6-foot Knighton was an imposing figure Wednesday, striking out a season-high 10 batters, including five in the last three innings.
She struck out three batters in each of the first and sixth innings.
The two runs Franklin produced were both unearned, after a couple of Rockdale errors.
Knighton is the Lady Tigers top hitter on the season with a sparkling .450 average and helped her own cause by clubbing a two-run double in the fourth as Rockdale erupted for five runs for a 7-0 lead.
However, against Franklin, it was freshman Mariana Casarez who had a breakout game.
The Lady Tiger centerfielder, hitting in the seven spot and .355 on the year, went 4-for-4 which included an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning when she ripped a rope to the left centerfield fence and scampered home before the Lady Lions could retrieve the ball.
She also scored three runs and stole home.
“She is finally hitting her stride,” Palmer said. “She got key hits when needed and helped boost the score.”
Emily Depine went 3-for-4 with a double, while Payton Miller chipped in a couple of singles.
Rockdale banged out 12 hits with four going for extra bases. The Lady Tigers were aggressive on the basepaths, swiping seven bases.
After constructing a 2-0 lead in the third inning after runs batted in from Miller and Karley Leopold, the Lady Tigers surged ahead in the fourth, crossing the plate five times and sending nine batters to the plate.
Casarez and Miller opened the inning, followed by walks from Jaycie Tannahill and Autumn Montelongo.
After Casarez swiped home and Miller stole third base and scored on an error, Knighton ripped a double to centerfi eld to score Tannahill and Montelongo.
Depine made the score 7-0 with a double to left to plate pinch runner Tyley Arledge.
The Lady Tiger bats went silent Tuesday night in the loss to Lexington.
Miller had the only hot for Rockdale, a single.
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