Late rally helps Pieper defeat Lady Chargers

Pieper put together a late rally Friday night in Boerne to defeat the Boerne Champion softball team, 12-8.

The Chargers held a one-run lead going into the top of the seventh, but the Warriors struck for 5 runs in their final at bat to pull ahead.

Champion had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh and put its first runner on, but the Warriors retired the next three Charger batters in order to end it.

Champion is 1-4 in district and 3-5 overall. The Chargers were at New Braunfels Tuesday and host Wagner later in the week.

Champion fell behind early after Pieper tallied 3 runs in its first at bat for the 3-0 lead before the Chargers had batted.

The Warriors added single runs in the third and fourth frames, while Champion scored once in the first and again in the third to give Pieper a 5-2 edge before the Chargers came to bat in the bottom of the fourth.

Champion had its best offensive inning and scored 6 runs. Doubles from Abby Brehmer and Hannah Perez, along with singles from Mylie Parker, Torin Tucker, Aidan Kavanagh and a Warriors error helped the Chargers push in its 6 runs and take their first lead of the game at 8-5.

Pieper responded in its next at bat and put its first two batters on in the top of the fifth with a single and a walk and eventually scored both of them to trim the Chargers lead at 8-7.

Neither team scored in that sixth frame to send it to the seventh.

Champion retired the first Warriors batter on a line out to second base, but that’s when Pieper started its rally. Three singles and two Charger errors allowed the Warriors to score four runs and retake the lead at 11-8 and there was still only one out in the inning.

The Warriors pushed in one more run to make it 12-8, which is where it stayed after the Chargers couldn’t score in the bottom of the seventh in the three-hour game.

Brehmer finished with 3 hits, including 2 doubles and picked up 3 RBI and scored twice, Parker and Perez drove in 2 runs each and Tucker scored twice.

Parker went 6 innings in the circle and struck out 7, while Anna Hurt tossed an inning and fanned 1.