PREP BASEBALL: Big fourth inning propels Fairview to 12-2 rout of Decatur Heritage
FAIRVIEW – Fairview took on Decatur Heritage at home in its final regular season game Tuesday, finishing strong. A Dayne Black grand slam was key for the Aggies; they pulled away in the fourth inning to take the game, 12-2.
Decatur Heritage, though, started the scoring in its opening at-bats. Back-to-back singles by Heath Bolton and Trace Lentz got it started early, then an RBI single by Jeffery Hunter, plus an RBI double by Jackson Parker, gave Decatur Heritage an early 2-0 lead, its only lead of the game.
Fairview countered in its half. Garret Dunn and Riley Carroll led off the inning with back-to-back singles, then after two straight outs, Truman Boyd and Bryson Fletcher hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at two. The Aggies started a two-out rally in their next at-bats; Dunn got it started with a single to right field, then Carroll lined a double to left field. Lane Schnittker lined a two-run double to center field to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead.
Fairview busted the game open in the fourth inning. Dunn drew a one-out walk, then Carroll got hit by the pitch. Schnittker lined a single to left field to load the bases for Black, who promptly unloaded them with his shot over the left-field fence, then Malcolm Parker later added a two-run double as the Aggies widened their lead to 10-2. Carroll added an RBI single and Boyd got hit by the pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth to give Fairview the win after five innings.
Black's grand slam was his only hit of the game as he also scored a run in the game as well. Schnittker added two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Boyd collected a hit and two RBIs, as did Parker. Dunn and Carroll (one RBI) went a combined 6-for-6 with four runs scored each. Fletcher chipped in with a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored. Dalton Payne also scored a run in the game. Schnittker went the distance in the game, allowing seven hits, two runs, walking one and striking out three. The Aggies finish the regular season with a record of 15-14 and will lose five seniors to graduation: Dunn, Scoot Bennett, Schnittker, Boyd and Fletcher.
PREP SOFTBALL: Cold Springs' Sanders pitches 1-hit shutout in 10-0 win over Hanceville
BREMEN – Cold Springs got a near-perfect performance from Drew Sanders on the mound and had a big second inning offensively to win, 10-0, over the Hanceville Lady Bulldogs.
Sanders and Hanceville's Cassidy Campbell each pitched scoreless first innings; the Lady Eagles, though, nearly put up a run in the first inning as Sanders reached on a dropped fly ball by left fielder Isabella Elliott and Sanders went to third on a bad Elliott throw. Campbell then struck out Anna Katherine Voce to get out of the inning.
The Lady Eagles batted around in the bottom of the second. Victoria Freeman led off the inning with a walk, then Kylon Hamby moved Toni West, who came in as the courtesy runner for Freeman, over to second with a sacrifice bunt. Emily Williams hit a single up the middle and advanced to second on the throw. Lacey Rice put Cold Springs on the scoreboard as she blooped an RBI single to center field. After Shay Sellers struck out for out number two, Cold Springs started its outburst when Hayden Goodwin blooped an RBI single to right field, then Crimson Gann hit a ground ball and it went through the legs of first baseman Destiny Short, which allowed Rice and Goodwin to score on the play; Gann advanced to second on a bad throw by right fielder Haley Whitehead.
Sanders then lined an RBI single to left field and advanced to third on the play. Voce hit an RBI double that hit just inside of the left-field foul line; Freeman added another RBI double and Hamby hit an RBI single to make it an 8-0 lead for Cold Springs. The Lady Eagles added another run in the bottom of the fourth as a Freeman suicide squeeze play turned into a throwing error by Campbell and Sanders scored on the play. Sanders ended the game with a one-out homer over the left-field fence.
Sanders allowed just a fourth-inning single to Destiny Martin and was absolutely dominant from the first pitch, striking out nine. She threw 73 pitches, 55 of them went for strikes, and she threw 16 first-pitch strikes to the 19 batters she faced. She also added three hits, two RBIs and scored three runs. Voce added two hits, an RBI and scored a run. Williams collected two hits, two RBIs and she scored a run. Freeman chipped in with a hit, two RBIs and a run scored. Goodwin and Rice each collected a hit, an RBI and scored a run. Hamby and Morgan Chasteen each chipped in with a hit and Toni West scored a run.
Cold Springs improves to 15-10 on the season and will head into a very important area game at Falkville on Thursday with first place in the area on the line.
Hanceville falls to 3-15 overall and will host Southeastern on Thursday.
PREP SOFTBALL: Ball's 3 homers, 7 RBIs helps lead West Point to 14-3 win
FAIRVIEW – West Point's Olivia Ball continued her offensive explosion after being named the Offensive MVP of the Cullman County Softball Tournament last week. On Tuesday, she hit three home runs and finished with seven RBIs in the Lady Warriors' 14-3 rout of Fairview.
Gracie Abbott reached on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder to lead off the game for West Point, then an out later, Ball hit a two-run shot over the center-field fence to put the Lady Warriors on the scoreboard. The Lady Aggies, though, countered in their half. Kaitlyn Benson blooped a one-out single over the head of Ball at shortstop, then Katie Ball lined a double to left field; an out later, Devan Fulmer hit a two-run single to right field to tie the game at two.
After a scoreless second inning by both teams, it was all West Point. Avery McClure hit a lead-off double to left field and Abbott blooped a single over the shortstop, then Molly Pendley hit an RBI single to center field to give the Lady Warriors the lead right back. Olivia Ball pushed West Point's lead to 6-2 with a three-run homer, her second one of the game.
Pendley hit an RBI single in the West Point fourth and she later scored on an error by the right fielder; Carlie Wilkins added a two-run single in the inning. Ally Hogeland stole home in Fairview's home half to make it a 10-3 game, but the Lady Warriors quickly countered in the top of the fifth on an RBI triple by Abbott, an RBI single by Pendley and Olivia Ball's two-run homer, her third of the game, to put the final score at 14-3 when the game concluded after five innings.
Ball also scored four runs in the game to complete her amazing performance at the plate. Pendley also had three hits in the game; she also scored three runs and added three RBIs. Abbott collected three hits as well; she scored four runs and added an RBI. Wilkins added two hits and two RBIs. McClure chipped in with a hit and two runs scored. Wilkins went four innings, allowing just five hits and three runs, walking none and striking out one. Josey Gammon walked one and pitching a scoreless fifth inning. West Point improves to 8-12-2 overall.
Fulmer had two hits and two RBIs for Fairview. Benson, Hogeland and Katie Ball each chipped in with a hit and a run scored. The Lady Aggies fall to 9-13 overall and will take on West Point on the road on Thursday.
Tuesday scoring roundup
Cullman 3, Albertville 2 (SB)
Lady Bearcats next game: Thursday @ Hayden
Cold Springs 11, Addison 3 (BB)
Eagles 8-21
Next game: Friday @ Mars Hill (1st round of playoffs)
Bulldogs final record: 9-11
St. Bernard 4, Sylvania 1 (VB SC)
Saints 8-6-1 (Have qualified for playoffs)
Falkville 8, Holly Pond 2 (BB)
Falkville 10, Holly Pond 0 (DH)
West Point 3, Fairview 2 (VB SC)
West Point 2, Fairview 0 (VG SC)
Warriors 1-7
Next game: Thursday @ Arab
Lady Warriors 3-5
Next game: April 24 @ Mars Hill
Aggies 3-7
Next game: April 23 v. Clements
Lady Aggies 4-9
Next game: Friday @ Clements
Addison 14, Lynn 4 (SB)
Lady Bulldogs 11-17
Next game: Thursday v. Good Hope
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