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Brittany Colwell's inside-the-park home run to center field leading off the bottom of the 10th inning lifted Little Miami to a 5-4 win over Kings in a critical Fort Ancient Valley Conference Cardinal Division softball showdown on Monday.

With the win, the Panthers moved into sole possession of first place with a 6-1 record (15-3 overall) while Kings dropped into a tie for second place with Amelia at 4-2 (7-9).

"This is a huge win," Little Miami coach Randy Callahan said. "Both teams had opportunities to win. It was a game of checkers out there, seeing what move would be made next.

"Kings played hard like we knew they would. We had to be on top of our game to win. They're a great team."

The Panthers were given a reprieve in the top half of the 10th when the apparent go-ahead run by Kings was nullified when the home plate umpired ruled that Ashley Hornschemeier left third base early on a sacrifice fly to left field.

Colwell didn't waste time taking advantage of the opportunity, blasting Kings pitcher Lauren Collier's first offering to the center field fence.

"It was high and right down the middle, and I felt like I could crush it," Colwell said. "I knew it was a home run as soon as it hit my hands because their outfield was playing in."

Colwell's home run capped a comeback by the Panthers that saw them erase a 4-0 deficit heading into the fifth inning.

Collier had dominated the Panther line-up early and had contributed to the Kings lead with a triple and a run in the second, and an RBI double — followed by a double by Ashley Hortman — in the fourth.

Little Miami got one run back in the fifth on two walks and a ground-out RBI by Angie Sandmann.

In the sixth, Chelsea Megie led off the Panther rally with a triple and scored on Colwell's single. After a walk to Alex Ranney, Dani Bechtell followed with a two-run single to tie the game.

"We opened the door for them," Kings coach Mary Ellen Bonner said. "We had opportunities to put them away and to win it in extra innings. We hit the ball well, we just didn't get that run across the plate."

Both teams had multiple chances in extra innings to win, but great defense on both sides prolonged the game. Little Miami's Katie Luck ran down a deep fly ball to the fence in left to save a run for the Panthers, while Hornschemeier made a diving stop at second base with the bases loaded to preserve the game for Kings in the seventh.

Marica Baker got the win in relief of Olivia Thornton, going six innings, while Collier pitched the entire game for Kings.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4526 or shayes@coxohio.com.

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