Greer High School’s softball season came to an end Monday and with that the career of senior pitcher Samantha Bagley.
River Bluff mounted a 3-run rally in the seventh inning that held up for a 7-5 win at Greer in the District I Class AAA playoffs. Greer lost to West-Oak last Friday that set up its exit Monday in the double elimination playoff.
Greer fell short with a final inning rally. Greer scored a run with two-out in the bottom of the seventh when Brooke Wade and Daniel Davis hit sharp singles into left field. Baleigh Coker, who hit a home run in the first inning, singled in Wade. Davis and Coker moved up to third and second, respectively. Bagley lined a pitch from Natalie Willis back to the mound where Willis made the shoe top catch. “I really think it was a lucky catch,” Bagley said.
Greer could only manage two runners on base in innings two through five.
“I thought we would come back and win,” Bagley said. “We never stopped fighting.”
“It was a great year for us,” Ashleigh Anderson, Greer head coach, said. Greer was 7-12 last year and its turnaround this season included sweeping rival Blue Ridge, and winning the Region II-AAA championship on the last game of the season.
“It was an amazing accomplishment,” Anderson said. “There is a lot of talent coming back.”
Bagley was tagged for two runs in River Bluff’s first at-bat and Lauren Pearson hit two-run home run to centerfield for a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.
Bagley threw 29 of her 113 pitches in the first inning. She walked one and hit a batter. She had a perfect second inning, fought out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning and only faced a total of seven batters in the fourth and fifth innings while only throwing eight pitches in each.
Despite being sick Tuesday through Thursday, missing the last two practices, she still pitched against West-Oak on Friday.
“Samantha wouldn’t have it any other way,” Anderson said. “She liked big situations and was better when the pressure was on. She was our leader pitching and at the plate.”
Greer players posed for a final team picture and Bagley was asked to pair up with some others. “It was a great year and the best year I had,” Bagley said. “The best part was beating our rivals (Blue Ridge) twice.
“It’s very sad our season is over.”
Bagley said she will enter North Greenville University in the fall and study sports ministry while traveling on missions. Her competitive career, Bagley said, ended Monday night.
River Bluff 200 002 3 – 7
Greer 100 003 1 – 5
Natalie Willis and Caitlyn Burke. Samantha Bagley and Baleigh Coker. WP – Willis. LP – Bagley.