USC shortstop Ivy O’Rourke waits for the softball to come down in her glove for a pop out in the Rebels’ 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Clippers on April 21.

United South Central softball fans were treated to a thriller when the Rebel girls hosted the Cleveland Clippers on Tuesday, April 21.

After a scoreless six innings of play, Cleveland scored two runs in the top half of the seventh inning. USC was able to tie up the game 2-2 in the bottom half of the inning.

The Rebels held the Clippers scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, then scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to take the 3-2 victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, and the game on the line, Alivia Bruegger got a base hit. After an out, Olivia Bird got on, and Bruegger advanced.

There was another out and Carissa Hanson came to the plate with the Rebels down to their last out. Hanson hit a double and Bruegger and Bird scored to tie up the game.

The next Rebel batter grounded out and the game went to the eighth inning.

USC pitcher Mariah Anderson held Cleveland scoreless in the top of the eighth, with three straight strikeouts of Clipper batters.

In the bottom of the inning USC’s first batter got out. The second batter, Anderson, got on base with a hit. The next batter, Ivy O’Rourke, also got on base with a single.

The fourth batter, Bruegger, got a single that drove in Anderson across the plate for the Rebels’ third run and the game was over – with a 3-2 victory.

Anderson pitched all eight innings and gave up two runs on one hit, walked one batter and struck out 20.

Cleveland’s Delaney Thompson pitched 7.33 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, walked one batter and struck out 12.

Anderson was 2-for-3 at the plate and Bruegger was 2-for-4.

The Rebels were next scheduled to host Blooming Prairie on Thursday, April 23 and Springfield the next day, Friday, April 24.

This week they are headed to Hayfield on Monday, April 27, Sleepy Eye on Tuesday, April 28 and back home to host Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Thursday, April 30.