Dixon’s double gives Wildcats spark needed to burn out victory against Wolves

BARRY, Ill. — Intimidation turned into jubilation for Emma Dixon.

And once Dixon provided the spark, Loryn White kept the fire burning.

With the Barry Western softball team trailing Pleasant Hill 1-0 with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning on Monday, Dixon strode to the plate for her first plate appearance against Saint Louis University commit Ava Wombles.

“I was definitely really nervous at first because I know Wombles is a really good pitcher,” Dixon said.

Dixon did her best to relax after swinging through the first pitch and taking the next for a ball.

“I just had to go in there, have confidence, take a deep breath, and say I could do it,” Dixon said.

Dixon unloaded on the next offering — a hanging rise ball from Wombles — and drove a double deep to center field, clearing the bases and giving the Wildcats a 3-1 lead. 

“I saw it right out of her hand, then boom,” Dixon said. “I was really excited. I was like, ‘Yes, let’s go, let’s go.’”

Wildcats coach Rachel Motley felt her team’s energy shift.

“It got the girls pretty hyped up,” Motley said.

Dixon’s swing turned out to be the game-winner. White, a junior right-hander, shut out the Wolves over the final six innings to preserve a 3-1 victory at Western High School, the Wildcats’ first over Pleasant Hill in five meetings dating back to 2019.

“(White) was great tonight,” Wildcats catcher Rachel McMullen said. “Once she gets locked in, she’s good to go.”

After escaping a bases loaded jam in the third, White gave up just two hits and walked two in the fourth through seventh innings. Only two of those baserunners reached second base.

White said that third inning was a turning point for her.

“I was locating my outside fastball a lot better than I usually do,” White said. “Probably about the third inning is when I started finding a groove.”

White said she and McMullen were in lockstep when it came to pitch selection.

“She knows exactly what to have me throw in every scenario, and it helps a lot with my confidence,” White said.

Dixon noticed White’s confidence growing.

“She can get down on herself sometimes, so we just need to pick her up, and when she feels that energy, she pitches even better,” Dixon said.

The Wolves got the tying run to the plate when Kaitlyn Borrowman singled with two outs in the top of the seventh, but White struck out Makenna Winchell to end the game after a seven-pitch battle.

“I thought we could claw back in it, but we just never did,” Wolves coach Ryan Lowe said. “Like I told the girls, we tip our hat to them. They played a great defensive game, Lauryn pitched a great game and limited her walks, and that’s what won it for them today.”

Western (3-1) returns to action on Tuesday with a road game against Greenfield-Northwestern. Pleasant Hill (1-1) will play Alton Marquette and Greenfield-Northwestern on Thursday.