HOLLY POND, Ala. – Holly Pond hosted the Southeastern Lady Mustangs for Tuesday afternoon matchup and the Lady Broncos got off to a quick start on their way to a 9-4 win.
Southeastern struck first in their opening at-bats as an RBI single gave them the early lead, but Holly Pond quickly responded in their half. Samantha Giles crushed a leadoff double to left field, then Bai Widner reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners. Two outs later, an error and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Maggie Nail, who promptly cleared them on the second pitch as her three-run double to left field gave the Lady Broncos a 3-1 lead.
Holly Pond added to their lead in their next at-bats. Ella Crider reached on an error, then Ellie Burks drew a walk. Giles hit a two-run double to left field, then Widner lined an RBI double of her own to center field to bring home Giles as that gave the Lady Broncos a 6-1 lead. Later on, an RBI infield single by Maycie Black pushed their lead to 7-1. Starter Lexie Smith gave up a double and the next batter reached on an error with one out in the top of the fourth, but she got the final two outs of the inning to get out of the jam.
Holly Pond added another run in the bottom of the fourth as Madyson Rickman scored on a Southeastern error to make it 8-1. The Lady Mustangs put up a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on a throwing error and an RBI single to cut it to 8-3. The Lady Broncos loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and Smith drew a walk to force home a run to increase their lead to 9-3. The Lady Mustangs quickly loaded the bases to start out the seventh, then after a fielder’s choice, an RBI fielder’s choice made it a 9-4 game. Smith got the next batter to ground out to end the game as the Lady Broncos pick up a 9-4 win over the Lady Mustangs.
Nail finished with three hits and three RBIs for Holly Pond. Giles added a pair of hits and two RBIs. Widner ended up with a pair of hits and an RBI. Black added a hit and an RBI. Smith ended up with an RBI in the contest. Rickman collected a pair of hits, while Burks chipped in with a hit of her own.
Holly Pond will remain home Thursday to take on Cleveland.
Other Tuesday scores
Cold Springs 9 – Southeastern 5 (Baseball)
Southeastern got the scoring started in their opening at-bats on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. Cold Springs responded in the bottom of the second as a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs for Brodee Bartlett, who cleared the bases on the first pitch as his three-run double gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead. Josh Winfrey followed that up with an RBI single to left field to increase their lead to 4-1. An Eagle error in the top of the third allowed Southeastern to cut it to 4-2.
Cold Springs added a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI groundout by Bartlett as that made it 5-2. Another Cold Springs error in the top of the fifth helped the Mustangs score a pair of runs to cut it to 5-4. The Eagles would counter in their half as Mason Gable and Cody Smith each scored on a Mustang error to give Cold Springs a 7-4 lead. The Eagles added to their lead in the sixth.
Cole Bales hit a leadoff triple, then Bartlett continued to swing a hot bat in this game as his RBI single on the first pitch pushed their lead to 8-4, then later on, with one out, Smith added an RBI groundout to make it 9-4. An RBI single by Southeastern in the top of the seventh made it a 9-5 game with one out, but Cold Springs didn’t let them get any closer after that as Bartlett got the next batter to ground out to end the contest. The Eagles went on to collect a 9-5 win over the Mustangs and with that win, Cold Springs won the Class 2A, Area 10 title.
Bartlett finished with two hits and five RBIs for Cold Springs. Winfrey added three hits and an RBI. Smith ended up with a hit and an RBI. Bales, Ethan Nabors, and Samuel Turner each chipped in with a hit of their own.
Cold Springs will now start preparing for the county tournament this weekend.
Good Hope 15 – Hanceville 0 (Softball)
Good Hope got out to a quick lead in their game against Hanceville and they easily rolled to a shutout win at home over the Lady Bulldogs.
Bailey Keef scored on a Hanceville error in Good Hope’s opening at-bats, then later on, Haley Lay stole home to give them a 2-0 lead. It didn’t take them long to break the game wide open as they put up an 11 spot in the bottom of the second, with the big hits coming from Lexi Steed (RBI single), Keef (RBI single), and Natalie Miller (RBI single). The Lady Raiders added a run in the bottom of the third inning on a stolen base by Carley Adams, then they ended the game in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Lay as Good Hope went on to shut out Hanceville 15-0.
Keef finished with a pair of hits and two RBIs for Good Hope. Steed and Lay each added a pair of hits and an RBI. Miller and Molly Benefield each ended up with a hit and an RBI. Adams added a pair of hits, while Campbell Koch, Addyson Burgess, and Jolee McHan each chipped in with a hit of their own. Bennefield threw a four-inning no-hitter as she walked one and struck out seven.
Good Hope will have a rematch with the Bulldogs Thursday at Hanceville.
Hanceville 15 – Good Hope 10 (Baseball)
Hanceville jumped out to a quick lead at home against Good Hope. They loaded the bases in their opening at-bats and Gabe Ognilla hit an RBI single, Jackson Cleveland drew a bases-loaded walk, and Les Fischer scored on a Good Hope error to give them a 3-0 lead. The Raiders responded in a big way in the top of the third inning. The first two runners got on base on an error and a single, then one out later, a Bulldog error allowed Dakota Overton to score to cut it to 3-1. A single loaded the bases, then Mason Drake drew a walk to make it a 3-2 game. Back-to-back errors brought home Caden Drake and Ayden Black to give the Raiders a 4-3 lead. Another bases-loaded walk, an RBI fielder’s choice, and an RBI single by Colten Whatley pushed their lead to 7-3.
Hanceville cut into the deficit in their half as a sacrifice fly by Cody Belcher and an RBI single by Tripp Lewis made it a 7-5 game. A Hanceville error in the top of the fourth allowed Caden Drake to score to make it an 8-5 game, then Good Hope put up two more runs in the top of the fifth on a Whatley RBI double and a Caden Drake RBI single to push their lead to 10-5. The Bulldogs started to cut into the Raider lead in their half as Ashton Hurst drew a bases-loaded walk, then Dalton Johnson hit a two-run single to cut it to 10-8.
Hanceville got the lead right back and then some in their next at-bats. Ognilla’s RBI single trimmed the deficit to one at 10-9, then Belcher’s RBI single tied things up at 10. Johnson got hit by the pitch to force home a run, then Jake Cornelius followed that up with a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead. Nelson Arteaga then gave them some insurance runs after that as his two-run double pushed their lead to 15-10. The Raiders couldn’t trim into the deficit after that as Hanceville picked up a 15-10 win over Good Hope.
Johnson finished with a hit and three RBIs for Hanceville. Ognilla added three hits and a pair of RBIs. Lewis and Cornelius each ended up with a pair of hits and two RBIs. Arteaga and Belcher each added a hit and two RBIs. Cleveland finished with a hit and an RBI. Hurst collected an RBI in the contest, while Fischer chipped in with a hit of his own. For Good Hope, Whatley finished with three hits and two RBIs. Caden Drake added a hit and an RBI. Overton, Mason Drake, Eli Clements, Brady Stripling, and Colbi Kilpatrick each collected an RBI in the contest, while Black ended up with a hit as well.
Both teams will face off in a rematch at Hanceville on Thursday in a doubleheader.
Holly Pond 18 – Locust Fork 7 (Game One)
The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the second, but Holly Pond’s bats got red-hot in a hurry as they sent 19 batters to the plate and scored 12 runs. The big hits came from Brody Howard (two-run home run and RBI double), John Martin (two-run single and RBI single) and Chase Brazelton (RBI single). The Broncos added a run in the third as Boston Gibbs scored on a wild pitch. A hit by pitch with the bases loaded, a wild pitch, and a Holly Pond error allowed Locust Fork to cut it to 13-4 in the top of the fourth. Then a balk, an RBI groundout, and another wild pitch in that same inning saw them trim the deficit to just six at 13-7.
The Broncos wouldn’t allow them to get any closer, though, as they widened their lead to double-digits in their half. Martin’s two-run double, Gibbs’ sacrifice fly, and a pair of Hornet errors allowed Carson Ryan and Cole Eubanks to score to make it an 18-7 game. Holly Pond got the final three outs of the game as they ended up winning the first game of their doubleheader against Locust Fork 18-7.
Martin finished with a trio of hits and five RBIs for Holly Pond. Howard added a pair of hits and three RBIs. Gibbs and Brazelton each ended up with a hit and an RBI. Sawyer Olinger added an RBI in the game, while Levi Farr and Ethan Tapscott each chipped in with a hit of their own.
Holly Pond 16 – Locust Fork 6 (Game Two)
Just like in game one, the Broncos jumped out to a quick lead. A pair of singles had runners on the corners with one out for Gibbs, who proceeded to hit a two-run single to give Holly Pond the early lead. Ryan added an RBI groundout to make it 3-0 later that inning, but Locust Fork countered in the top of the second as they put up five runs to take a 5-3 lead. The Broncos got the lead right back in their half as an Olinger RBI single, a Peyton Queen RBI groundout, a Gibbs RBI single, and an RBI double by Ryan gave them a 7-5 lead.
Holly Pond added onto their lead in the third. Farr hit an RBI single, then he later scored on a Hornet error to make it 9-5. Jackson Miller scored on another Hornet error, then Martin later scored on a wild pitch to push the Bronco lead to 11-5. Locust Fork trimmed the deficit to five at 11-6 on an RBI single in the top of the fifth, but the Broncos countered in their half. Olinger and Queen each scored on a Hornet error, then Brazelton collected a two-run single to make it 15-6. Bradly Butts ended the game a few pitches later on an RBI double with one out as Holly Pond finished off the sweep of Locust Fork 16-6.
Gibbs finished with a pair of hits and three RBIs for Holly Pond. Brazelton added a pair of hits and two RBIs. Olinger and Queen each ended up with two hits and an RBI. Ryan, Butts, and Farr each collected a hit and an RBI in the contest, while Martin and Howard each chipped in with a hit of their own.
Holly Pond will now start preparing for the county tournament coming up this weekend.
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