By RYAN  ARENA

Sports Editor

It wasn’t exactly about defense and pitching last Thursday as West St. John hosted Xavier Prep.

Xavier overcame a two run deficit in the seventh inning to force an 18-18 tie, which held as the teams did not enter extra innings.

Ciere Poche had a huge day at the plate for the Lady Rams, going 4-for-6 with five RBIs on the afternoon.

Tranell Mitchell was no less fearsome, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

But the Rams (2-1-1) let some chances to finish their opponents slip away. The first came early on, as West St. John led 10-4 in the second inning. With Xavier on the ropes, the Rams made some errors defensively that allowed the opposition back in the game.

“We let them back in it. They battled and took advantage of our mistakes,” said West St. John Coach Brandon Dumas. “It gave them the confidence they needed to get back in it.”

The second chance to ice the game came in much the same fashion as the first. With a two-run lead in the top of the seventh inning, two Ram errors followed by an Xavier hit allowed the tying run to cross the plate.

West St. John’s last chance to notch the win came in the bottom half of the inning. With two on, two out, and Mitchell representing the tying run at second, Rici Roussell struck out to end the contest.

“It was definitely a game we should have won,” said Dumas. “But that’s how softball is. There are so many ups and downs. The good thing is we didn’t lose it.”

But Dumas said that the tie was hardly satisfying to his team.

“They were ready to play them again, as soon as it ended,” Dumas said of the Rams. “The great thing about these kids is that they’re fighters. They want to compete.”

It was the first Rams start for pitcher Deveny Bapiste, who went five innings before giving way to Destani Comminie.

“We wanted to get her some experience, and we felt this was a good time to do it,” said Dumas. “She did a great job until the fifth, then she got a bit tired. But she’ll be a great one for us.”

Dumas found a silver lining in the mental toughness his team displayed in the end.

“We fought to the end. We could have packed it in after they rallied to tie it. But we fought and got the last out.”