By STEPHEN MONAHAN
Sports Editor
Weather did not get in the way of the Gainesville Lady Leopards softball game Tuesday, but unfortunately Decatur did.
Nursing a 3-0 lead after three innings, the Lady Eagles’ offense hit its stride, scoring 10 runs in the final four innings en route to a 13-5 win at Darwin Fields on the campus of North Central Texas College.
Mercy Staley went 5 for 5 at the plate with two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base while Chelsea Patterson, Jazmine Lujan and Leia Andriotto each knocked in three runs to help the Lady Eagles push their record to 7-5 this season.
In the fourth inning, Decatur pushed its lead to 7-0 thanks to a two-run double by Lujan and RBI singles from Andriotto and Staley.
Gainesville (4-11) did not record its first hit until the bottom of the fourth with a single from Brianna Munoz, who later scored on an RBI double from Madyson Bond to cut the lead to 7-1.
Decatur added a run in the fifth with an RBI double from Patterson, who finished with three hits and two runs scored.
In the bottom half of the fifth, the Lady Leopards chased Decatur starter Denae Schertz after she gave up four runs, including RBI hits to Laura Dhane, Shanece Manuel and Shelby Brewer.
Schertz, who recorded the win, pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and two strikeouts. Vicky Mayo came in for relief with an 8-5 lead, eventually picking up the save after pitching 2 2/3 innings of shut out ball.
The Lady Eagles finished their scoring in the sixth and seventh innings as Andriotto, Patterson and Jordan Alker each recorded RBI singles in the sixth while Emily Johnson tacked on an RBI single and Andriotto added another RBI on a fielder’s choice in the seventh for the win.
Gainesville starter Sarah Gerken pitched all seven innings for the Lady Leopards, giving up 13 runs on 18 hits while striking out four.
At the plate, Dhane, Brewer, Munoz, Megan Gonzales and Manuel each had hits for the Lady Leopards. Brewer, Dhane, and Manuel also each had one RBI.
