Lady Vikings win thriller with Roark's homer
KEVIN MAYS / Associate Sports Editor


APPALACHIA "? One swing of the bat was all the Powell Valley Lady Vikings needed Thursday to pick up a key Lonesome Pine District softball win.

Chabrae Roark drilled a shot over the left field fence in the bottom of the third inning and Kaylla Holdway recorded 16 strikeouts to lift Powell Valley (12-2, 6-0) to a 2-1 win over the Appalachia Lady Bulldogs at Island Creek Park.

"I did not know that I had many,"? Holdway said of her strikeout count.

The performance from Holdway (5-2) follows a mound performance from her a week earlier when she struck out 18 against Clintwood and a 13-strikeout performance last Wednesday from Lady Viking pitcher Marie Chandler against Gate City.

"We're starting to groove the ball a little more now, but the most important thing right now is that we're not giving up a bunch walks,"? said Powell Valley coach Paul Clendenon. "(Holdway) just gave up a couple walks today and we gave up just one or two in our past couple of games and that's huge for us."?

Holdway's performance on the mound and Roark's homer over-shadowed a strong pitching performance from Appalachia sophomore right-hander Erica Boggs.

Boggs (2-3) gave a complete-game performance giving up two runs on five hits while walking only one and recording six strikeouts.

"She's really coming along for us,"? said Appalachia coach Mark Williams. "This is by far the best she has pitched for us."?

The one mistake Boggs made was a costly one when she delivered a pitch that got a little high on Roark.

"It was a good pitch to hit,"? said Roark. "She pitched good and I was happy to get a hit off her."?

Despite the loss, Williams said his team played well in the contest and he was pleased with the effort "? especially after the Lady Vikings took a huge win when the two teams played at Powell Valley earlier in the season.

"I guess you could say it was a moral victory for us,"? said Williams. "I told the girls before the game to relax and have fun because we didn't have anything to lose.

"Powell Valley is a super team and we were able to play with them today. If we play the rest of the season like we played today I think we can do some good things."?

The close contest was not a surprise at all to Clendenon.

"I told the girls that when you beat a team like that, they're going to come back strong,"? the Lady Vikings coach said. "A team with pride like Appalachia is going to come back and not let you do that to them again."?

Powell Valley's lone runs in the game came when Mandy Blanton hit a one-out single to left. One out later, Roark smacked a shot over the left-field fence to put the Lady Vikings up 2-0.

Appalachia scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Lauren Howard singled up the middle with one out.

After stealing second, Howard moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on an RBI single from Boggs.