Greenville's Lindsay Henson heads for first base after a bunt as Naylor's Charissa Bridges prepares to throw her out during the fourth inning of the Lady Bears' 5-3, 9-inning win on Monday. (Brad Hurt/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

By BRAD HURT ~ Sports Writer

NAYLOR -- There was no quit Monday in the Greenville Lady Bears despite unfavorable odds.

The Lady Bears (4-1) scored three times in the top of the seventh to tie the game, and Hannah Bayer doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth as they stunned Naylor 5-3.

Winning pitcher Sara Condray drew a one-out walk in the ninth, and Bayer drove her home with a double to right with two outs before scoring an insurance run herself on an error.

After Condray struck out Moriah Goodrum with a runner on first, the Lady Bears' comeback was complete.

"I was thinking, 'I hope I don't strike out,' but I got the hit," Bayer said. "The seniors helped us out a lot and cranked up our boost," she said of her team's late resurgence.

"I'm going to refer to them as my never-quit Lady Bears," Greenville coach Dennis Jeffries said.

Naylor's Chelsea Lane appeared to be cruising to a win through the first six innings, racking up strikeout after strikeout and going through the Greenville lineup with little difficulty. She struck out 19 in nine innings.

With Greenville down 3-0, Kayla Duncan led off the seventh with a double and Lindsay Henson reached on an error to set up the rally.

Condray drove both runners home with a double to center field to trim the Naylor lead to 3-2, and scored the tying run on Tara Porter's single one batter later. Lane then recorded three straight outs.

"We decided not to start hitting until the seventh, and then our freshman Kayla Duncan came through with a big hit," Jeffries said.

Lane retired 18-of-19 hitters through six innings and only a second-inning single by Bayer separated her from a perfect game entering the seventh.

"Chelsea pitched really well through six innings," Naylor coach Gene Deckard said. "They hit the ball a little bit in the seventh, and we didn't make the plays we needed to make."

The Lady Eagles (2-2) scored all three of their runs in the third inning. Hailee Deckard led off with a single and ended up on third after a pair of stolen bases. Courtney Sullivan drove her home with an infield single and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by Charissa Bridges for a 2-0 Lady Eagle lead. Lane followed Sullivan's hit with a bunt single and scored the third run on a groundout by Moriah Goodrum.

Naylor pitcher Chelsea Lane prepares to deliver a pitch Monday against Greenville. Lane struck out 19 in nine innings. (Brad Hurt/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

Outside of the third inning, the Lady Eagles struggled to take advantage of their baserunners. They left the bases loaded in the second and eighth and stranded a total of nine runners.

"When we have runners in scoring position with less than two outs, we have to put it in play and score runs," Deckard said. "After we got the three runs we just kind of let down and didn't do what it took."

Condray did her part to limit Naylor's offense late in the game, starting a 1-2-3 double play to end the seventh and getting two key outs with the bases loaded in the eighth on a strikeout and a fly ball.

"She's unbelievable," Jeffries said of his senior pitcher. "It doesn't matter if we're down five or ahead five, she's going to throw."

Condray went the distance, allowing three earned runs on 12 hits and struck out 10 to pick up the win.

Bayer went 2-for-3 to lead the Lady Bears while Duncan, Condray and Porter each added a hit.

Goodrum went 3-for-5 for Naylor, while Lane, Hailee Deckard and Charissa Bridges each picked up a pair of hits.