Every time you get cross county rivals Van Vleck and Tidehaven in any competition it’s always a close intense battle for bragging rights. There was no difference Tuesday, March 29, when Van Vleck visited Tidehaven for a district 26 2A softball game.

    The two teams took the field with two different styles. Van Vleck’s hard throwing Lyndee Dement took the mound for the Lady Leps, while Tidehaven’s Sarah Lara chose to attack with an array of off speed pitches. Both pitchers cruised the first inning with no trouble.

    The Tigerettes drew first blood in the second inning. When Sarah Lara was hit by a pitch, Victoria Torres came in to pinch run.

    A Skylar Mitchell single and a passed ball put runners on second and third with no outs.

    Dement buckled down and got the next two batters on strikes before Jessica Neuman lined a double to centerfield to plate two. Robin Krenek grounded out to Leps third basemen Meagan Stell to end the inning.

    The Lady Leps got one back in the third on a Lyndee Dement homer over the leftfield fence. The Leps got a single and steal off second from Kamille Kucera but could not capitalize on the scoring chance. A fly ball to left ended the inning with the Tigerettes leading 2-1.

    In the third, Chelsea Perez reached on an error and advanced to second on a sac bunt from Marisa Lara. An infield single from Sarah Lara put runners on the corners, but a fly ball to left would end the inning for the Tigerettes.

    Leps catcher Kayla Patten walked to start the fourth; Smith came in to run for Patten. Meagan Still doubled to left to put runners on second and third with no outs. A RBI sac fly from Huerta scored Smith and advanced Stell to third.

    After a strikeout from Lara, a Kate Langston RBI double scored Stell. Another double from Lyndee Dement pushed Langston across to cap the scoring for the Lady Leps.

    With the Lady Leps up 4-1, Dement got through the fourth unharmed after walking Amanda Gonzales and allowing a hit to Jessica Neuman.

    After a Kucera fly out to left, a Meg Dement single to center got the Leps back in action in the fifth. Dement moved to second on a Patten sac bunt then came around to score on a double for Stell. A Huerta fly out ended the inning for Van Vleck.

    The Tigerettes pulled things closer in the fifth when Galvan drew a walk and moved to second on a Marisa Lara single. Both runners later scored on a single and a throwing error, bringing the score 5-4 in favor of Van Vleck.

    Pinch Hitter Bailye Foltyn reached on a single in the sixth and moved to second by Langston. Sarah Lara stood tough and retired the next three Lep batters to keep it a one-run game.

    Dement set down Tidehaven in order to hang on to the lead. Van Vleck scored two in the seventh to stretch their lead to three.

    In the home seventh, the Tigerettes tried to mount a come back. A Galvan single gave Tidehaven life. Galvan advanced to second on a Marisa Lara ground out. Dement struck out the next batter for out number two of the inning. Skylar Mitchell singled to put runners on the corners. An error from Van Vleck scored Galvan.

    Dement ended the game with a strikeout to close out a well-played game by both teams.