Lady Hornets blow out Fayetteville for home district win

S

The Huntland High School Lady Hornets beat the Fayetteville Lady Tigers 16-3 at home Wednesday for their 11th win of the season.

The Lady Hornets created an early lead and fully pulled away in the fifth and sixth innings to record their fourth straight victory.

Huntland head softball coach Michael Tipps said his players got off to a slow start following a big win over Eagleville the night before, but they settled in and found their rhythm as the day went on.

“It was an emotional win last night, and sometimes, it’s hard to get motivated to come back the next day. I thought we did a better job later on in the game,” he said before referring to what his team improved on over the course of the contest. “I think we started swinging at better pitches. We were getting ahead in the count and the pitcher was having to groove it a little bit more, and we started barreling some up.”

The Lady Hornets, playing as the away team for the day, scored a trio of runs in the top of the first with a two-run single by Jocy May and an RBI single by Camerin Davis providing the early offense.

Davis drove in another two runs in the top of the third to make it a 5-0 game in Huntland’s favor early.

The Lady Tigers did all of their scoring in the bottom of the third as they strung a few hits together to cut the lead down to 5-3.

The Lady Hornets re-established a solid lead in the top of the fifth as Bailey Morris scored off of an error on a ball hit by Davis, Hazel Reed hit an RBI triple, Kinah Mason followed with an RBI single, and Ashtyn Danley contributed an RBI double to make it a 9-3 game.

The deficit expanded to double digits in the top of the sixth as Davis got the scoring started with a two-run triple before coming in to score one pitch later on a sacrifice fly by Reed.

An RBI single by Blair Finchum, a two-run triple by Hadley Gardner and an RBI single by DeAnna Burton added to the lead as the seven-run frame gave them a 13-run advantage.

The Lady Tigers were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth as the Lady Hornets wrapped up the game slightly early due to the mercy rule.

Mason pitched a complete game for the Lady Hornets with eight strikeouts, four hits and three unearned runs allowed for the day.

With the win, the Lady Hornets improved to 11-4 on the season and 5-1 in district play.

They will next play Friday at home against South Pittsburg High School. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

posteditor
posteditor
Articles: 17424