ALTON – Alton's softball team seemingly had Bunker Hill on the deck in their game at Alton High Wednesday afternoon.

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The Redbirds had a six-run burst in the bottom of the third to take a 10-1 lead on the Minutemaids and seemed to be ready to end the game early.

Not so fast. Bunker Hill rallied to pull to 10-8 through the middle of the sixth before the Redbirds scored a pair of runs to give them some breathing room as Alton managed to squeeze past the Minutemaids 12-9 to go to 4-0 on the season; B-Hill fell to 1-4.

“It wasn't our best game and I don't think Bunker Hill would say it was their best game,” said Redbird coach Dan Carter. “It's an early-season game and we got a chance to see our pitchers throw a little bit – we're pleased with that. Sydney Hartman did a great job out there for three innings, (Savannah) Fisher came in and did OK; she threw strikes.

“We came back with Abby (Scyoc) to finish it up and went from there.”

Carter felt the Redbirds didn't help themselves in the Minutemaid comeback. “We didn't help ourselves,” Carter said. “We booted the ball around a little bit, but the good thing was that we kept battling; we put some more runs on the board and kept the advantage the whole way out there and good things happen when you keep battling.

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“We had good at-bats and we hit the ball well and gave their outfielders a little work out there. It's always a good thing when you can put a win on the board; we'll go from there, make adjustments and get better tomorrow.”

“I'm proud of the girls; they didn't give up and kept hitting the ball,” said B-Hill assistant coach Doug Dey. “We kept battling back; our defense let us down today, but offensively we did well. We'd been struggling offensively and defensively we'd been doing all right. Today, we swapped it.

“Alton's got some good hitters; they hit the ball hard. Overall, disappointed with the defense, but we did OK. It's still early though; we had our chances, tip your hat to Alton. They did what they needed to do.”

The Redbirds took a 4-1 lead on the Minutemaids through two innings, but exploded for six runs in the third, highlighted by a two-run single from Hartman, a two-RBI double from Scyoc and a two-run double from Tami Wong. The Minutemaids rallied with three in the fourth and two each in the fifth and sixth, highlighted by a two-run homer down the line in right by Ashley Dey that pulled Bunker Hill to 10-8. Rachel McCoy gave Alton some breathing room in the sixth with a two-run single that brought in Savannah Fisher and Ashlyn Betz before Scyoc shut the Minutemaids down after giving up a run in the seventh.

Wong led the way at bat for the Redbirds, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored, followed by McCoy's 3-for-4 day with three RBIs; Fisher was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored, Miranda Hudson was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, Betz 1-for-3 with two runs scored, Tomi Dublo 1-for-3 with two runs scored, Mikinna Hall 1-for-4 with a RBI and run scored, Hartman 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored and Rachel Rathgeb a run scored.

Mallory Schwegel went 3-for-5 with a triple and four runs scored for Bunker Hill, with Hannah Kahl going 2-for-5, Cassidy Taylor 2-for-3 with a RBI, Madelyn Allman 1-for-4 with a RBI and run scored, Dey 1-for-4 with the homer, two RBIs and a run scored, Alyssa Austill 1-for-4 with a run scored, Sydney Gresham 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Josie Maner a RBI.

The Redbirds are scheduled to travel to Roxana for a backyard rivalry game with the Shells at 4 p.m. today, then host Jersey at 10 a.m. Saturday; the Minutemaids are at Edwardsville for a 4 p.m. contest today before traveling to Jersey for a 4:30 p.m. Monday game.

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