SHS, PHS run cut short
Published 11:59 pm Monday, March 16, 2009
Andalusia, Straughn and Pleasant Home made it to the third round of the losers’ bracket in the Andalusia Annual High School Softball Tournament Saturday at the Andalusia Sports Complex before the games were called due to inclement weather.
Straughn beat Andalusia 7-5 in five innings and Pleasant Home defeated Wicksburg 3-0 in three innings. Andalusia and Wicksburg were eliminated.
Earlier Saturday, Andalusia won over Greenville, 2-0, in the losers’ bracket; Straughn lost to Rehobeth, 2-1, in the winners’ bracket; and Pleasant Home lost to Kinston, 2-1 in the winners’ bracket.
Straughn 7, Andalusia 5
With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, the Lady Bulldogs faced a 7-0 deficit before slowly chipping away. First, Andalusia (5-6) scored an unearned run when Jessica Park walked.
Then, Samantha Greene hit a three-RBI double to bring in Kristen Finley, Kenna Edmondson and Park.
Greene was later sent home on an RBI double from Amy Riley.
“That was purely a miserable game,” Andalusia coach Anthony Mikel said. “The field looked like a pigpen. The girls fought back and played hard and never quit.”
Straughn (6-3) scored three runs in the first, two in the second and two more in the third inning.
“The Andalusia game was a sogfest,” Straughn coach Ray Wilson said. “It was hard to tell anything about either one of us.”
Pleasant Home 3, Wicksburg 0
The Lady Eagles (7-1) shot out to an early lead against Wicksburg in the first inning on an RBI double by Brittany Ward.
Then, Ariel Gunter walked to put runners on first and second.
Robyn Weaver hit a two-RBI single to bring in Ward and Gunter and take a 3-0 lead before the game was called in the third inning.
Pleasant Home coach Jimmy Reeves said he was “pleased” with the way his team played Saturday.
“We didn’t get enough work in to really evaluate what we’re doing,” Reeves said. “That was the first time a lot of our players have been on the field this season.”
Rehobeth 2, Straughn 1
Wilson said his team had plenty of “opportunities” to score, but they did not come through for the team.
“I thought we played well,” Wilson said. “We had two innings with runners in scoring positions.
“But, we played well defensively,” he said. “We were playing a good team.”
Kinston 2,
Pleasant Home 1
Pleasant Home’s Gina Davis scored the only run for her team Saturday, hitting an inside-the-park home run to go up early over Kinston.
But Kinston scored two runs in the fifth inning to win the game over its Class 1A and area opponent.
“I was disappointed we lost to Kinston,” Reeves said. “They are a good team. It’s going to be tough to beat folks like that.”
Reeves said “defense” is something the team still needs to work on.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on in that area,” he said. “That’s something we’re working on real hard. It’s still early and we want to be ready in May. Our goal is to get better every day.”
Andalusia 2, Greenville 0
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Paige Caraway scored on a one-run single from Megan Pugh and courtesy runner Kristin Evans scored on an error.
Mikel said his team played “well,” given their youth.
“The girls played very, very well,” Mikel said. “I thought we played good defense, but we didn’t hit the ball as well as I had hoped we would. Greenville has a good team. They played us very hard.
“Overall, I’m very happy with the progress the girls are making,” he said.
Andalusia’s area game against Thomasville scheduled for Monday night has been postponed until April 20 at 4:30 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs will host Straughn today at 4 p.m. Both junior varsity and varsity teams will play.
Straughn’s game against Pleasant Home scheduled for Monday night has been postponed until March 30 at 4 p.m.