Pioneers hold

off Titans
From staff reports

Once Watauga pitcher Nicole Reilly was handed a lead, she was not about to give it back.

Reilly, who was handed a two-run lead, made it stick in Watauga’s 3-2 victory over McDowell in a Northwestern 4-A Conference showdown Thursday at the Carroll Complex.

Reilly allowed just three hits for the Pioneers, who improved to 3-2 overall, 2-1 in the conference. The game was Watauga’s third one-run game in the five games it’s played this season.

“We are very young with only two seniors, so these one-run games are helping the girls mature as ballplayers and bring the team together and should help us in the future,” Pioneers coach Brian Vannoy said. “ We’re finding a way to win right now where in the past we’d try not to lose. For a young team, we're showing a lot of poise and toughness, and for that I'm very proud of this team. We still have a long way to go, but I like what I’ve seen so far this season.”

Watauga took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out single by Hanna Yates, and on a McDowell error that allowed Yates to score from third. McDowell did not help itself by making four errors in the game.

Watauga added a run in the second inning when Chandler Butler smacked an RBI single, giving the Pioneers a 3-1 lead. Butler drove in Olivia Stanley, who led off the inning by being hit by a pitch.

Reilly took it from there. Even when McDowell added a run in the sixth inning, Vannoy felt the the Pioneers would keep the lead.

“I thought we played well today,” Vannoy said. “We gutted it out in the end. We got ahead early and found a way to win the game in the end. We didn't fold in the end.”

Watauga makes up a game with Ashe County Monday at the Carroll Complex. The Pioneers play at A.C. Reynolds Tuesday night.

Watauga 3, McDowell 2
McDowell 010 001 0 — 2 3 4
Watauga 210 000 X — 3 3 1
WP—Reilly (2-2), LP—Peek.