By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor

Three errors helped Poplar Bluff dig a three-run hole but two-run singles by Liz Rainbolt and Kelly Kelm helped rally the Lady Mules to a 6-3 win Thursday against visiting Scott City.

"I was glad to see them come back and not get down 3-0 in the first inning and just give up from there," Lady Mules coach Lisa Nippe said. "They came back and scored."

Also Thursday, Poplar Bluff sophomore Travis Blalock won the 3.1-mile Webster Groves Invitational and three Lady Mules earned medals for their top-20 finishes. The tennis team was postponed at Charleston due to rain.

At Bacon Park, the Lady Mules finished strong by retiring 20 of 21 Lady Rams to end the game two days after giving up 13 runs in the final two innings against Notre Dame,

Julie Maloney allowed four hits, only one after the first inning, struck out six and walked none for her fifth win.

Poplar Bluff (7-3) scored all six runs in the third inning by sending 11 batters to the plate.

Rainbolt tied the with a bases-loaded single game past a diving shortstop and Maloney followed with an RBI single to center field for the lead. After a bunt single by Breanna Moore, Kelm drove in a pair of runs with a single to right field for a 6-3 lead.

The inning started on a double by Alex West over the right fielder's head and she later scored by beating the throw home on Cindy Nippe's RBI grounder to second.

"She has been hitting the ball well lately " said coach Nippe of West, who raised her average to .385. "She's been putting average the bat on the ball with some nice, solid hits."

Savannah Mattingly also had two hits, including a bunt single in the third, while Chelse Dale chipped in a sacrifice bunt during the rally and got her first career varsity hit in the sixth. Dale later dislocated her finger stealing third.

"(The pitcher) threw a lot of riseballs and (Dale) did a good job of getting the bunt down, getting on top of it," coach Nippe said.

Scott City (3-8) scored three unearned runs in the first inning when Becky Holder led off with a bunt single and moved to third when Poplar Bluff misplayed Macy Heisserer's bunt. Holder scored after she drew an errant throw to third as Heisserer stole second. Kim Klipfel's single to left gave Scott City a 2-0 lead and she later scored on another error.

"We made some poor judgements " coach Nippe said.

After a wild pitch moved Emily Essner to third, Maloney struck out the hitter looking and got out of the jam with a fly ball to Kelm in left field.

Maloney retired the next 12 Lady Rams before No. 9 hitter Stacey Heisserer's single to left field with one out in the fifth. Maloney struck out the next hitter and got a pop fly to end the inning before striking out three of the final six she faced.

"You can lose a lot of first games in the first inning coming out flat like that " coach Nippe said. "It could have been a over from the last it could carry

game, have been a lot of things."

CROSS COUNTRY

Poplar Bluff's Travis Blalock led wire to wire and won at Webster Groves with a time of 17 minutes, 12 seconds.

"Great form, great stride," coach Beth Lewis said. "He looked nice and relaxed the entire way."

After a 30-minute rain delay, Hannah Blalock led the Lady Mules through the mud and finished second with a time of 20:21. Jasmin Sumrall was eighth at 22:14 and Julia Huck finished 20th at 23:35.

"They were covered from the waist down in mud," Lewis said.

In the 3K junior varsity race, Kelsey Sumrall (13:35) was 16th while Ashley Snapko (14:00) dropped 45 seconds off her time to finish 23rd. Hilary Carroll (23:41) finished 85th.