Ella Bruce tastes dirt on a headfirst slide into home, but avoids a tag after a bases-clearing double by Riley Williams in the 3rd for Tift against Cairo.

TIFTON — There was a football game at Tift County High Thursday afternoon, but don’t mistake the 18-16 score for that. This was softball and the Lady Devils survived Cairo by that score, winning their first home game of 2023.

Head coach Taylor Barber, who watched the Lady Syrupmakers not only stave off elimination by the run rule but trim a 14-5 score to 16-15, was good with the way it ended. After all, Cora Beth McCrary struck out the side in the 7th for her first ever save and they beat a Cairo team coming off a school record in wins.

“What a ballgame,” Barber said. “[Cairo’s] a run away from getting run-ruled.” Several good at-bats later, he said, Cairo’s back in it. Seeing McCrary put out the fire was special. “Throw a freshman in the circle and she comes in and keeps firing.”

Three homers featured.

Bailee Williams hit a two-run shot in the 1st for an initial Tift lead. Cairo went on top in the 3rd on Megan Meadows’ grand slam. Williams then provided two runs of insurance in the bottom of the 6th, even after Cairo’s coaching staff motioned for Lady ‘Makers outfielders to stand at the base of the fence.

Though Tift put two on the scoreboard with the first round-tripper, action began picking up in the 3rd. Cairo batted around — they’d do it again in the 5th — Meadows hugging the left field foul line to bring in Alison Persing, Jada Vickers and Josie Noriega on the grand slam. Having erased the early deficit, they added one more run when Mallory Lyons doubled in Abby Faircloth.

The contest then made its turn to the slugfest category in the bottom half, when Tift scored 12 runs with two outs. Seventeen hitters came to the plate, one short of batting around twice.

Bailee Williams stood on second with two outs and the Lady Devils still down 5-2. Macy Hand rapped a single past second to score her. The bags filled with Lily Robinson and Braylin Dorden (Catherine Payne and Morgan Brey courtesy running for each). Two batters later, the score tied because of walks to McCrary and Abby Henderson, eight straight pitches out of the zone.

Ella Bruce singled sharply to left for a run, then Riley Williams cleared the bases with a double to make it 9-5.

Not content, Bailee Williams walked and Loralee Bennett drove in the Williams duo with a single. Hand walked. Robinson doubled in Bennett and Hand. Dorden reached on catcher’s interference for the second time in the inning. McCrary walked again to re-load the bases. That was temporary, though, as a wild pitch scored Payne.

Three pitchers into the inning, Cairo got out of it with a pop to third.

Robinson retired the Lady Syrupmakers 1-2-3 in the 4th, the last a pop up on an eephus pitch. That would be the last normal inning of the game. Up nine runs, Tift needed to score three for a mercy rule now or simply hold off Cairo in the 5th for the same. Tift got two runs in the 4th.

Bennett and Hand plated Bruce and Bailee Williams on a single and fielder’s choice, respectively, to increase the lead to 16-5.

Cairo wasn’t going away easily. They had scored at least nine runs in all of their games and weren’t stopping now.

Faircloth, Breanna Jordan, Persing and Vickers drove in runs and a bases loaded error did more damage. Six scored, keeping Cairo alive at 16-11.

Four more scored in the 6th on back-to-back two-run doubles by Persing and Vickers. Tift was still ahead after a third-out pop to Riley Williams, but by the skin of their teeth at 16-15.

With a game as wild as this, insurance was badly needed. Tift got it.

Bruce led off the 6th with a single off the shortstop’s glove and stole second. Riley Williams could not get a pair of bunts down, but put the ball in play with two strikes to move Bruce to third with one out. Bailee Williams stepped up. Cairo motioned its outfielders back, then further back, touching the fence. That didn’t help when Williams crushed a ball to centerfielder for a no-doubt two-run bomb.

The runs were appreciated, a three-run cushion for McCrary, a freshman working the biggest moment of her young career.

Meadows doubled for Cairo and ultimately came in on an error, but McCrary was unphased. Two were on base, but McCrary finished striking out the side to hold on to the victory.

“it’s a sigh of relief for us offensively,” Barber said. “That right there was awesome.”

Bailee Williams finished at 4-for-4 with two homers, four RBIs and five runs scored. Riley Williams and Bennett each drove in three, with two RBIs for Hand and Robinson. Bruce scored three times. Every spot in the order plated at least once and eight of the nine spots drove in at least one run.