If Clear Fork shortstop Taylor Kline doesn’t have a nickname, she does now. She is “White Lightning,” as in the movie of the same name where you couldn’t comprehend how fast Burt Reynolds was driving, opponents can’t comprehend how fast Kline runs the bases.
Kline’s inside the park home run in the seventh inning was the final margin in the Lady Colts a 4-2 win over Edison in the division II district semi-finals on Tuesday at Buckeye Central High School.
Taylor Cook got a two out single and stole her second base of the game before Kline ripped a pitch up the right centerfield alley.
“She is home to home pretty darn quick. It would be nice to see a video of that and time it up because I think that might have been her fastest home to home time ever,” said Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried.
“When she hit the ball I knew she was thinking four out of the box. There was not doubt even though they hit the cut off person it was the second baseman catching the ball and I was sending here the whole way.”
Trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, Clear Fork took the lead when Cook singled and Kline doubled to put runners on second and third. Cook scored when Edison dropped a fly hit to shallow left by Erika Farst to tie the game and took the lead on an RBI groundout by Anna Myers.
Then in the bottom of the inning Edison put a runner on first, but the Lady Colt infield executed perhaps the biggest play of the game, and certainly the biggest defensive play. Third basemen Farst fielded a shot from Chelsea Imus, the Edison clean up hitter. She turned and threw to combine with second baseman Montana Walker and first baseman Macey Ruhl for an inning ending double play.
“I came out of the dugout and I was sky high, I mean it was huge. Just where they were at in the order we had to have that play. When you get one great, but when you get that second one it is such a huge bonus,” said Gottfried.
The round-tripper by “White Lightning” gave the Lady Colts the insurance runs they needed. To the Lady Colt’s coach, that was a key moment.
“If it was a 2-1 game like it was in the sixth they have a fighting chance. They battled, they got a run and had the go ahead run at the plate. We had to make the play at the end of the game and we did. Our kids hung in there for all seven innings,” said Gottfried.
Cook’s two stolen bases were key in the Clear Fork rally and Gottfried says he won’t stop being aggressive, especially when base runners are scarce in the postseason.
“I was thinking in about the fourth, fifth inning that we were going to have to steal first base. We just couldn’t get on. I mean Schmidt was outstanding. She kept us off balance. I don’t think we got a hit until the fifth inning. It’s a testament to our whole team for hanging in there,” said Gottfried.
Clear Fork pitcher Morgan Arnett allowed seven hits and Lady Colts were error free.
Clear Fork will be either traditional rival Lexington or Clyde in Friday’s district championship game. Gottfried says whoever it is they will be ready.
“It doesn’t matter, they are both the same colors, blue and yellow, purple and yellow,” he said. “We are going to face one of them, and whoever it is, bring them on, we will be ready for them.”
“I came out of the dugout and I was sky high, I mean it was huge. Just where they were at in the order we had to have that play. When you get one great, but when you get that second one it is such a huge bonus,” said Gottfried.
