PANAMA CITY — Chipola might have turned the corner. Gulf Coast might not recover.
The Lady Indians rallied for a Panhandle Conference doubleheader sweep over the reeling Lady Commodores at Joe Tom King Field on Wednesday. Chipola scored eight runs in its final three trips to the plate to win the opener 10-9 in nine innings. It erased a six-run deficit in the nightcap to win 9-8 and deliver GC its fifth straight loss.
Chipola remained in second place at 8-6 in the conference and 28-14 overall. GC fell from a tie for third to fourth at 23-24, 5-9, a mere three games ahead of last-place Pensacola (20-14, 3-13), which has split four meetings with the Lady Commodores with two more on the horizon.
Chipola scored nine of its 10 runs in the final three innings of the second game and Ciara Jones’ two-run single provided the winning margin in the seventh against losing pitcher Ashton May. Chipola scored two in the fifth and four in the sixth, three of those coming on Katie Harrison’s second home run of the day.
GC built its second-game lead starting with Megan Griffith’s two-run home run in the first inning. An error, a Holly Brown single and a Rosanne de Vries wild pitch increased the lead to 5-1 after two innings. Anna Martin drove in Griffith in the fourth for a 7-1 lead.
The lead was squandered in a matter of three innings. GC scored a run in the seventh, but the final rally ended when winning pitcher Jessica Elliott struck out Brown with two baserunners in scoring position.
The deflating loss comes after an emotional opener with GC having several opportunities to win. Chipola trailed 3-2 for most of the game until Harrison’s grand slam capped a five-run seventh. GC’s response under adversity has been as inconsistent as it has been this season, but the Lady Commodores came back with a flourish.
Katie White’s three-run home run tied the game 7-7. Chipola moved ahead 9-7 behind three GC errors. The Lady Commodores responded strongly again, JoJo Booker scoring on a wild pitch and Kelbi Davis driving in Taylor Campbell to tie it at 9-all.
Harrison struck for her fifth RBI of the game to knock in Jones with the winning run off of May. Harrison finished the night with three hits and eight RBIs.
GC has dropped seven of its last eight games since a sweep of Northwest Florida State on March 21. That is possibly the only positive note in the drought, as the Lady Commodores travel to play NWF State for the second of three doubleheaders on Friday with a chance to turn the tide. It’s the start of a difficult stretch, however, with four of GC’s final five doubleheaders coming against the top three teams in the conference.
Chipola hosts first-place Tallahassee (29-8, 13-1) on Friday. The teams split the first doubleheader on March 21.