The Lady Skins blew a seventh-inning lead before coming back to claim a 5-4 victory over visiting Harlan in the bottom of the inning. Without the win, Cumberland would have been out of contention for the district's top seed.
Cumberland junior Dawn Metcalf blanked the Lady Dragons through five innings before Harlan finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth.
With Cumberland up 3-0, Megan White drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to third on two wild pitches. Julie Thomas also walked and stole second, putting two runners in scoring position.
Jessica Rice drove in White with a sacrifice ground out to shortstop Kelsey Day. Eighth-grader Courtney Bell followed with a deep fly ball to center field that was dropped by Cumberland's Lindsay Collier, allowing Thomas to score.
The Lady Dragons had an opportunity to pull closer, stranding two runners on base when senior Tina Roper grounded out to second baseman Natasha Pennington to end the threat and leave the Lady Skins clinging to a 3-2 lead.
Overall, Metcalf did a good job of pitching out of jams. The Lady Dragons stranded a runner on third in the fourth and fifth innings with a Rhonda Curtis popout to third and a Chelsey Hensley strikeout, respectively.
"We were just waiting too late, not getting the bats on the ball, not getting motivated early," Harlan coach Chuck Mitchell said.
Metcalf pitched a complete-game two-hitter for Cumberland, striking out three and walking six.
"That's the best she
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