The first two weeks of Warren Central’s softball season have been anything but boring.

Keke McKay hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the top of the eighth inning, and Warren Central added two more runs to earn a wild 16-13 victory against Florence on Thursday.

The Lady Vikes (4-1) overcame a seven-run deficit, then blew a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh before finally winning it in extra innings. It was the third time in six games that the winning run has been scored in the sixth inning or later.

“We had a moment where I thought we were down a little bit. We scored a few runs there and brought it back. That’s a big win,” Warren Central coach Brian Ellis said.

Florence (2-3) raced out to a 9-2 lead after four innings. Reagan King hit a two-run home run in the first inning and finished 2-for-6 with four RBIs. Navayiah Aaron had two hits and scored three runs.

The Lady Vikes, however, buckled down and began their comeback in the sixth inning. Makayla Jackson hit an RBI double and scored on a single by Jenn Smith as part of a five-run rally that cut it to 9-7.

In the top of the seventh the Lady Vikes scored five more runs to take a 12-9 lead. Adalyn Anderson, who also doubled in the sixth inning, hit an RBI single in the seventh. Anderson scored on a bases-loaded triple by Smith that put WC ahead, and Smith scored on a wild pitch.

Florence struck back for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it again. Brantley Parrish hit an RBI single and Helen Grace Roberts an RBI double to make it 12-12.

In the eighth inning, Whitley Parks started at second base under the tiebreaker rules and Katelyn Morson led off with a walk. A passed ball and a wild pitch moved both runners up a base, and they both scored on McKay’s single to make it 14-12.

Anderson drew a walk, and she and McKay then scored on a single by Mari Kynlea Ferguson to extend the Lady Vikes’ lead to 16-12.

King led off the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double that brought in the tiebreaker runner, but Florence could not push any more runs across.

Smith finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored for Warren Central. McKay was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored, and Anderson had two hits, two walks, one RBI and scored three runs.
Ferguson also had three RBIs.

“We made some mistakes and got behind the 8-ball a little bit, but to battle back like that and for them to go up to the plate with confidence and get those big hits was good to see,” Ellis said.