Bowling Green’s Holly Waskom hit a bases-clearing triple in the fourth inning, driving in the go-ahead runs, and the Lady Bucs never looked back in a 10-3 victory over Central Private.

Bowling Green (4-4 at press time) trailed 2-1 after three in their District 6AA opener, but put up four runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Waskom’s big hit.

Mason Edwards began the frame by reaching on an error. After a strikeout, Allie McCain singled, and Kristina Jarrell was hit to load the bases. Anna Beninato sent a grounder to the shortstop, and the throw home was in time to force Edwards at the plate.

That brought up Waskom, who up to this point, had a lineout to left field and hit another liner that dropped, but this time was different.

Waskom hit a ball down the left field line, inside of the foul line. The ball rolled up against the fence. McCain scored to tie it 2-2. Right behind her was Jarrell with the go-ahead run and Beninato came all of the way around from first to tally. Waskom ended up at third with a three-run triple.

“What I’ve been basically working with all of this week is batting,” Waskom said. “That’s what we’ve been doing in the cage, and that’s what our coaches really mainly focused on, so that helped a lot.”

Waskom, who is a sophomore and is in her third year starting, said the pitches she hit hard were basically down the middle. Waskom later added an RBI double to finish with four runs batted in.

Bowling Green coach Pat King said you couldn’t ask for anybody better to be up in that spot with the Lady Buccaneers’ young team.

“It’s hard to have sophomores as some of your main leaders, but she is,” King said. “When she hit that ball and we got to score three, it was kind of a breath of fresh air, but that’s what I expect from kids like that. She’s a player.”

The Lady Bucs weren’t done yet in the fourth. After the triple, Madison LaSalle plated Waskom with an RBI single. LaSalle was thrown out at second, trying to stretch the single into a double, but that didn’t take anything away from the huge inning. Bowling Green scored four runs on three hits, which included one error, and it was 5-2 through four.

From there, it was about tacking on insurance runs. The Lady Bucs scored once in the fifth when Katelin Junkins reached on an error. Cailee Fruge doubled and Edwards picked up an RBI as Central Private (2-4, 0-2) made an error, giving Bowling Green a 6-2 advantage.

Central Private trimmed the lead to 6-3 in the sixth. Alayna Averette and Sammie Hebert both singled before Faith Pizzaloto walked to fill the bases. After the first two outs, Lauren West, who had three hits, recorded an RBI single to center. Averette scored to make it 6-3. Hebert attempted to score, but the Lady Bucs had other ideas. Centerfielder Edwards came up throwing, and she fired a strike to pitcher Fruge, whose relay throw to LaSalle was in time to get Hebert at home and end the frame with the Lady Bucs up 6-3.

Bowling Green’s response was a four spot, as the Lady Buccaneers sent 10 hitters to the plate. Beninato walked before Waskom delivered again, this time with an RBI double, sending Beninato home for a 7-3 lead. LaSalle reached on an infield single. Following the first two outs, Edwards reached on a throwing error, allowing Waskom and LaSalle to score and make it 9-3. Jenkins walked, McCain was hit to load the bases, and then Jarrell showed patience and drew an RBI walk to cap off the scoring.

Central Private put a pair of runners on base, but winning pitcher Fruge kept the Lady Rebels off of the board in the seventh for the 10-3 victory.

Fruge went the distance, allowing three runs, two earned, on nine hits with eight strikeouts and three walks. Fruge struck out the side in the second and fourth inning.

LaSalle threw out a would-be base stealer in the fifth, and the defense made two errors, which accounted for one run.

Central Private broke a scoreless game with two in the third. West singled and Lauren Bihm walked before Madison Nunnery plated West with an RBI double. Bihm got to third on an error and scored on Averette’s RBI groundout to second.

Bowling Green got it to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning by manufacturing a run. Waksom reached on a two-base error, moved to third on LaSalle’s groundout to first and scored on Junkins’ RBI groundout to second to make it 2-1, beginning a run of six consecutive runs for the Lady Bucs.

Bowling Green plated in the Amite School Center Tournament yesterday. This week, the Lady Bucs are on the road against Silliman Institute tomorrow before heading to Ben’s Ford Tuesday and then going to the Silliman Tournament Saturday. They return home Aug. 18 to battle Centreville.