Nevada softball wins second straight at home

NEVADA -- In their toughest test of the young 2010 season to date, the Nevada Lady Tigers came through and passes the test in a big way as they beat Carthage 11-10.

Head coach Tammy Holcomb's Lady Tigers came into Thursday's contest against the Carthage Lady Tigers already on the winning track after defeating the Lady Cardinals of Clinton, 6-2, on Monday. Thursday's contest was a far different story as the two squads found themselves in a tough battle from the start that ultimately took 11 innings -- four past the regulation seven -- to decide a winner.

The Lady Tigers looked as though they had the game well in hand from the start as they took a 7-1 lead into the fourth inning. Carthage refused to go down without a fight, however, and rallied with three runs sixth and three more in the seventh to force extra innings.

Carthage went on to take a 10-7 lead in the top of the 10th, only to see the Lady Tigers rally for three more runs in the bottom of the frame to send the contest into the 11th. A leadoff single by Victoria Culbertson, followed by hit batter, a wild pitch and an intentional walk gave the Lady Tigers their final scoring opportunity of the day and a throwing error on a ground ball off the bat of Mackenzie Pritchett ultimately brought home Culbertson for the winning run.

Jessica Neely led the Lady Tigers with four hits on the day -- including a fourth-inning solo home run -- while Tiffani Long drove in four runs on three hits.

Christian Novak went the distance in the pitching circle for Nevada, striking out 12 and walking only one in her second complete game victory of the week. The loss was Carthage's first in three games this season.

Carthage's JV won the nightcap, blanking Nevada by a final score of 8-0.

With the win, the Lady Tigers improved to 2-0 on the year and are scheduled to head out on the road for the Buffalo (Mo.) tournament today, when they take on Buffalo at 9 a.m., and Waynesville at noon.