The ball scorched through the crisp, clear night air like a screaming comet only stopping once to hit the top of the center field fence before trickling down on the other side. When it finally came back down to Earth Washington sophomore Adriana Tyson had her first career home run and the Pam Pack took a one run lead over Riverside.
It would be a lead that Washington would not surrender as it went on to avenge last week’s loss to the Knights with a 7-4 victory on a brisk Friday night.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the third, Tyson dug into the batter’s box and proceeded to blast a high Lawson Perry fastball, arcing it up and over the approximately 210-foot fence in center field to put the Pack up 5-4.
While Tyson’s moon shot may have stunned the crowd, Pam Pack coach Doug Whitehead had seen that act before.
“I was sling-shotting it to them in batting practice and she hit three out in a row off of me,” Whitehead said. “I told her before the at-bat to just go out there and imagine that I’m pitching behind the screen and I want you to rip the ball. And she did. That was a big one, it was her first high school career home run.”
Aside from the hiccup to Tyson, Riverside coach Richie Ange felt Lawson had a good outing.
“I thought Lawson gave us four good innings,” Ange said. “Washington has a tough lineup, their 1-9 is strong. I wasn’t displeased with how Lawson pitched.”
Tyson’s round-tripper brought momentum and the lead back to the Washington dugout. With a one run advantage, Pack pitcher Rebekah Langston slammed the door shut on the Knights the rest of the way as she threw four consecutive scoreless innings to get the win.
Langston would finish the contest striking out six and scattering seven hits.
“Rebekah came back to being herself,” Whitehead said. “She was the workhorse that we expect her to be and she threw the ball well and kept the ball low.”
Washington struck early as Haley Hutchins tripled before scoring on an error to take a 1-0 lead in the first. Kaylee Jackson would add an RBI single to give the Pack a 2-0 advantage heading into the second.
The Pam Pack would tack on two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth when McKissick belted a two-run single up the middle to take a 7-4 lead.
After falling behind 2-0, the Knights answered over the next two innings, scoring two runs in the second on past balls to tie it before tacking on another two runs in the top of the third to go ahead 4-2 before Tyson’s blast in the third.
Riverside was led at the plate by Rachel Baker, who went 2-3 and scored a run, while Leah Burch, Madison Brandon, Kasey Hall, Caitlyn Griffin and Perry each had one hit.
The Knights threatened in the top of the seventh, but the Pam Pack was able to keep Riverside from crossing the plate to preserve the win.

Riverside    022    000    0    —    4    7    1

Washington    203    002    X    —    7    8    0
WP: Rebekah Langston; LP: Lawson Perry
Hitting: R — Leah Burch 1-4, Madison Brandon 1-3, Kasey Hall 1-4, Rachel Baker 2-3, Lawson Perry 1-3 (2B), Caitlyn Griffin 1-3; W — Anna Hardison 1-4, Haley Hutchins 1-3 (3B, 2R), Justyce McKissick 2-2 (2 RBI, 2R), Adriana Tyson 1-2 (HR, 3 RBI), Haley Wright 1-4, Kat Staton 1-1, Kaylee Jackson 1-3 (RBI).