The Cape Girardeau Tigers broke a two-game losing streak after overcoming an early deficit to beat Kelly 7-4. The game not only improved the Tigers to an even 6-6 record, but it also demonstrated a level of mental toughness that was hidden inside the team.
Kelly opened the game with a run-scoring single and tacked on two more to make it 3-0 before the tigers got a chance to bat.
Valerie Greenley would go on to get the Tigers on the board with an-RBI double. However, before the Tigers knew it, Kelly was back to their scoring ways, pushing the lead back to three.
Despite being down three runs, the Tigers never got down mentally. In fact they would roll their way back into the game with a dominating performance in the third and fourth innings.
The rally started with a single from Elizabeth Turk and then a double from Keri Williams to tie up the game 4-4. The Tigers pulled away for good in the fourth inning scoring two runs, one coming from Kayleigh Turk.
The turnaround in this game resulted not only from the mental toughness of the team, but also from Elizabeth Turk. Her thought process heading to bat in the third inning gave the Tigers the confidence to play better.
According to her, it felt amazing to be part of the comeback: “Usually, I try to wait and have other people get things going, but before I went to bat I told myself, “Why don’t I do it” and I told myself I could do it,” she stated. “And then, I did it and I was really happy and super proud of myself because I knew I had the talent and I was smart enough to do it.”
“I am so proud of my team for the comeback,” Elizabeth Turk continued. “We’ve been better this year about not just kicking the bucket and calling it a day. We go out there and we fight because we know we’re more than good enough to do that and I love that mindset.”
The Tigers collected 16 hits on the day. Kayleigh Turk, Greenley, Ki Bogan, Williams, Turk, and Brooke Witvoet each had multiple hits. Elizabeth Turk went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead the Tigers in hits. The Tigers didn’t commit a single error in the field and Greenley had the most chances in the field with six.
