Big lead gets away, but Excel rallies for walk off win over Mt. Zion-Carroll

The Excel Christian Academy softball team scored four times in the bottom of the first inning Monday afternoon and expanded their lead to 8-1 through five frames, but visiting Mt. Zion-Carroll scored six runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to tie the game 8-8.

The home standing Lady Eagles still managed to pull out a win, however, on a Lindsey Mauldin single, a groundout by Hannah Lee, and a pair of wild pitches in the bottom of the seventh that allowed a walk off, 9-8 win for Excel.

Mount Zion-Carroll finished with ten hits to only seven by Excel, but the locals took advantage of four errors by the visitors. As a result, eight of Excel’s nine runs were unearned.

Lee started in the circle (3 IP, 1R, 0ER, 3H, 1BB, 1K) and was relieved by Taylor Gibson. Although Mt. Zion-Carroll rallied against the reliever, Gibson (4 IP, 7ER, 7H, 1BB, 6K) was credited with the pitching win.

Mauldin (2 RBI) and Kalli Beth Scheff each had two hits and a double for ECA. Lee (2 RBI), Gibson (RBI), and Brighton McCollum had the other hits for the Lady Eagles. Whitney Harris walked twice, drove in a run, and scored once for Excel.

Excel improved to 10-13 with the win and held the No. 22 ranking among Class A private schools in GHSA. The top 24 teams, following the final rankings, qualify for the state playoffs that begin October 12-13 at school sites.