Three days made a big difference for the Caldwell County softball team.
The Lady Tigers fell to Marshall County 12-1 in six innings Monday in Princeton.
The teams met for a rematch Thursday night in Draffenville.
But this time Caldwell built a 7-1 lead early, then held on to knock off the 20th-ranked Lady Marshals 7-6.
The Lady Tigers (10-12) scored four runs in the top of the first, then added a three-spot in the third to get the early jump on Marshall.
Brylee Butts doubled home the first two runs of the game for Caldwell. Presley McKinney and Majah Hollowell each singled in runs with two outs to extend the margin to 4-0.
Marshall (20-11) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, but Caldwell countered with three runs in the top of the third.
Two runs scored when Rylee Thompson reached on an error with two outs. A.J. Hollowell then doubled home another run to push Caldwell’s lead to 7-1.
The Lady Marshals got one run back in the home half of the third, then scored four times in the fourth to make it a one-run ballgame.
Riley Piercefield and Layne Pea had RBI singles in the inning while Charley Pursley’s RBI groundout cut Caldwell’s lead to 7-6.
But Caldwell pitcher Illysa Stallins shut down Marshall the rest of the way. After giving up a leadoff single in the fifth, Stallins retired the last nine batters she faced to nail down the upset.
Stallins’ final line showed her allowing six earned runs on 10 hits while striking out one and walking just one.
McKinney was 3-for-3 at the plate as part of Caldwell’s 11-hit attack. Butts went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. A.J. Hollowell, Harper Holeman and Majah Hollowell were all 2-for-4 at the plate as well.
Piercefield was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Marshall. Pea and Kinley Edwards were also 2-for-3.
Caldwell’s girls have won their last two games.
The Lady Tigers will play again on Monday when they host Lyon County.
