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Down, but never out.

Callaway pulled off a massive comeback in the final inning to get a 13-9 road win over Starr’s Mill on Monday. 

“Shoot, I don’t even know where to start with that game,” Callaway head coach Josh King said. “One of my assistant coaches called it a slugfest. It was a back-and-forth game.”

The Cavaliers scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead with a Mya Lawton RBI triple and a RBI double from Ava Shuford. Starr’s Mill rallied and retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth. 

“It felt like every time we put a run up they had an answer,” King said. “The girls never dropped their heads. They kept battling.”

Trailing 9-7 heading into the seventh and final inning, the Cavaliers could have folded, instead they pulled off a six run rally to secure just their second win of the and give themselves a platform to build off of the rest of the season. Kinley Smith hit an RBI double to cut the lead down to one before Mackenzie Rhodes got her first hit of the game to drive in a run and tie the game late in the inning. Emma Bryan drove in the winning RBI on a single to center field. The Cavaliers were not done there as they got some breathing room. Lawton grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in the eleventh run. Rhodes stole home before Shuford flew out to drive in the Cavaliers 13th run of the game. 

“This is a huge confidence booster for the team,” King said. “It was awesome to watch honestly.”

How they got there:

Callaway jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Kaitlyn Williams flew out to drive in Bryan. With two outs, Lawton stole home followed by Savannah Rice hitting a two RBI triple to make it 4-0. 

Starr’s Mill chipped into the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning before an additional run in the bottom of the second to make it 4-3. 

The Cavaliers were able to get a bit more breathing room when Shuford stole home in the top of the third inning with two outs. 

Starr’s Mill tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning before taking a one run lead after the fifth inning. 

Shuford was the star of the show offensively with a 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. 

“She was seeing the ball well all night,” King said. “She missed a home run by just a couple of inches.” 

Not to be outdone, Lawton delivered as well with a 2-for-5, three runs scored and two RBIs from one spot ahead in the order. Rice was able to consistently reach base as well. She was 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored. Bryan got back to work after a hot start to her season as she went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. 

Mackenzie Toney got the start on the mound for Callaway and went the full seven innings on the mound. 

“She has been a grinder for us all season,” King said. “She didn’t have her best stuff tonight, but she always gave us a chance to win.”

Callaway improves to 2-6 overall and will start region play on Tuesday at home versus Redan. 

“I think this win gets us in the right mentality for region play,” King said. “I’ve been preaching ton our girls that we are starting from 0-0 in the region.”