Solon salvages Wamac East split with Dyersville Beckman

SOLON — Midway through three innings Thursday night, the Solon Spartans had built themselves another hole.

No. 3 Solon (6-2) had already lost Game 1 of its doubleheader against No. 10 Dyersville Beckman (5-1), 6-5, and was down 5-0. Solon already picked up three errors, and couldn't muster a hit early.

A sweep was looming.

Then suddenly, something clicked. Solon picked up three quick hits to load the bases. The Spartans capitalized, scoring all three runners and adding two more from a two-run double from sophomore Taylor Ryan to tie the game up 5-5.

The Spartans rode that inning through the end of the game, scoring eight in the fourth inning to give them a comfortable lead en route to a 15-5 win and a split on the night.

'It felt really good, especially coming off the loss on the first game,' center fielder Bryn Hanrahan said. 'It was really nice to get it back.'

Solon Coach Jim White, though, said the several errors and defensive lapses that caused the five-run deficit at the beginning of the game is a slight cause for concern.

'We were down 5-0 and thought we were going to get run-ruled almost,' White said. 'But we came back again, had some big at bats. But boy, do we need to play a lot better defense than we did tonight.'

The first game of the night had a similar rally. Down 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Solon picked up four runs to get within just one of the Blazers, getting in position to win the game.

When Solon shook off the defensive lapses and focused on its hitting, Hanrahan said, was when they had the most success.

'Once one person gets on,' she said, 'then usually more and more people get on, so I think it's just keep on rolling with the bats.'

White still wasn't content. His team is young, he said, and there is a lot for them to work on.

'I don't know if I've ever had so many things to work on this time of year ever,' White said. 'But we have made progress it seems in the last couple of weeks.'

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