HANCEVILLE, Ala. – After dropping game one at Good Hope 11-2 Friday, the Bulldogs bounced back Saturday with a walk-off win over the Raiders Saturday, securing a postseason berth. After a scoreless eighth inning, Nelson Arteaga ended things for the Bulldogs with an RBI double to cap a 4-3, extra innings win over the Raiders.
The Bulldogs struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back singles by Jake Cornelius and Cody Belcher put runners on the corners with nobody out. Arteaga lined a two-run single to left field to give them a 2-0 lead. Good Hope answered right back in the top of the second. Colten Whatley hit a one-out single and came around to score on an RBI double by Dakota Overton to cut it to 2-1. The Raiders tied the game up at two in the top of the third on an RBI double by Caden Drake.
It quickly turned into a pitcher’s duel after that, as Hanceville’s Arteaga and Good Hope’s Ayden Drake quickly settled down and didn’t allow a run for the next three innings. Good Hope looked to break the tie in the top of the seventh. Black led off the inning with a single, then Kane Anderson, the pinch-runner for Black, stole second, and moved to third on a ground ball. Anderson ended up scoring on a Bulldog error to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead. Hanceville answered right back in their half. Cody Belcher hit a one-out single and moved to second on a balk with two outs. On the first pitch, Gabriel Ognilla lined an RBI single to left field to tie the game up at three. It ended up going into extra innings.
The game remained tied at three going into the ninth inning. Grayson Hurter reached on an error to lead off the inning, then Caden Drake got the next two batters to pop out and looked to get out of the inning unscathed. Arteaga had other ideas, though, as he lined a 1-2 pitch into left field to bring home Hurter, and the Bulldogs ended up collecting a huge 4-3 win in extra innings over Good Hope. With the win, Hanceville clinches a spot in this year’s state playoffs.
Arteaga finished with three hits and three RBIs for Hanceville (14-7). Ognilla added a hit and an RBI. Arteaga struck out nine and gave up just six hits and two earned runs in his 7.1 innings of work. Hunter Black walked two and struck out three in 1.2 innings. For Good Hope (11-11), Drake (two hits) and Overton (one hit) each drove in a run for the Raiders. Ayden Black went six innings, allowing just six hits, two earned runs, walked three and struck out five.
Friday scores
Holly Pond 13 – Cold Springs 1 (Softball)
Holly Pond jumped out to a quick lead in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back errors allowed Maycie Black, Darla Fredrick, and Maggie Nail to score to give them the early 3-0 lead. Libby Stallings later scored on an error to make it 4-0. The Lady Broncos quickly broke the game wide open in the bottom of the second. They sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs. Fredrick drove in three runs on a pair of singles, Stallings added an RBI single, Alivia Farr and Black each hit a two-run single, and Nail collected an RBI single of her own to push their lead to 13-0. Cold Springs avoided the shutout in the top of the third as Peyton Kennedy hit a sacrifice fly to make it 13-1. Holly Pond would go on to collect a 13-1 win over Cold Springs.
Fredrick finished with a pair of hits and three RBIs for Holly Pond (5-7). Black went three-for-three with a pair of RBIs. Farr added a hit and pair of RBIs, while Nail and Stallings each collected a hit and an RBI in the win. Alaina Folds went three innings and allowed just four hits and one unearned run. Kennedy drove in the only run of the game for the Lady Eagles in the loss.
Southeastern 6 – Cold Springs 1 (Softball)
Cold Springs struck first in its opening at-bats. Kortnie Williams hit a leadoff double and later stole home to give the Lady Eagles the early lead. Southeastern countered with three runs in their half to take a 3-1 lead. The Lady Mustangs added two more runs in the bottom of the second and one more in the third to take the game over Cold Springs 6-1.
Williams finished with the only hit and scored the only run of the game for Cold Springs (5-7).
Cold Springs 11 – Meek 10 (Baseball)
Cold Springs didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard against Meek. Josh Winfrey hit an RBI groundout to give them the early lead. Later that inning, Matt Williams added an RBI single, and Samuel Turner drove in a pair of runs on a single to stretch their lead to 4-0. Meek, though, scored the next five runs to take a 5-4 lead. That wouldn’t be the last lead change of the game. Williams hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth and later scored on a wild pitch to give the Eagles a 7-5 lead. Each team traded leads in the fifth inning.
The Tigers scored four runs to take a 9-7 lead, but Cold Springs countered in their half. Cole Bales tied the game up at nine on a two-run triple, and a sacrifice fly by Winfrey gave them a 10-9 lead. An error allowed Meek to tie the game up at 10 in the top of the sixth, but the Eagles looked to win it in their final at-bats. Winfrey reached on an error to lead off the seventh, then with two outs, Mason Gable got hit by the pitch. On the first pitch, a Tiger error allowed Winfrey to score the game-winning run, as Cold Springs ended up getting an 11-10 win over Meek.
Williams finished with a pair of hits and three RBIs for Cold Springs (9-14). Turner (two hits), Bales (one hit) and Winfrey each added two RBIs in the win.
Springville 2 – Fairview 0 (Baseball)
The Springville-Fairview game quickly turned into a pitcher’s duel. The Tigers put up a run in the top of the first and added another run in the fourth. The Aggies ended up getting shut out by Springville 2-0.
Conner Scott finished with a pair of hits for Fairview (19-8-1), while Gannon Black and Carson Jones each collected a hit in the loss. Jaxson Robertson went 6.2 innings and gave up just four hits and two unearned runs, walked two and struck out six.
Good Hope 4 – Oneonta 1 (Softball)
It was a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings, and the game was scoreless going into the fifth inning. Good Hope struck first in the top of the fifth. Maggie O’Neil and Lizzy Steed each hit back-to-back one-out singles, and Molly Johnson reached on an error to load the bases. Campbell Koch hit a two-run single to right field to give the Lady Raiders a 2-0 lead. Later that inning, Molly Benefield drove in a pair of runs on a double to right field to push their lead to 4-0. Oneonta cut it to 4-1 on an RBI single with one out, but Benefield got back-to-back flyball outs to end the game, and Good Hope ended up defeating the Lady Redskins 4-1.
Koch and Benefield each finished with a hit and two RBIs for Good Hope. Benefield gave up eight hits and one earned run, walked none and struck out two in her five innings of work.
Vinemont 13 – Susan Moore 3 (Softball)
Vinemont got their offense going early in their game against Susan Moore. The Lady Eagles loaded the bases with two outs, then Alaina Sandlin hit an RBI single to put them on the scoreboard first. Emma Dortch followed that up with a two-run single to left field to give them a 3-0 lead. Vinemont made it 4-0 in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Haley Millwood. The Lady Eagles got a two-out rally started in the bottom of the third. Abby Kuykendall lined an RBI single to left field to stretch their lead to 5-0. Later in the inning, Callie Millwood hit a two-run single and Haley Millwood followed that up with a two-run triple on the first pitch to make it 9-0.
Susan Moore put up three runs in the top of the fourth to cut their lead to 9-3, but Vinemont made it 10-3 in their half on an RBI double by Dortch. The Lady Eagles decided to end things in the bottom of the fifth. Haley Millwood hit an RBI single and Sandlin’s two-run double helped seal the 13-3 win for Vinemont.
Haley Millwood was one of several players that had a big day at the plate for Vinemont (3-10), as she finished four-for-four with four RBIs. Sandlin added three hits and three RBIs. Dortch ended up with a pair of hits and three RBIs, while Callie Millwood posted three hits and two RBIs in the win. Arleigh Thomason got the win for the Lady Eagles, as she gave up just six hits and one earned run, walked three and struck out seven.
West Point 8 – Hatton 7 (Softball)
West Point didn’t waste any time getting off to a quick start offensively. Macayla Wilkins hit a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first and later scored on an RBI single by Macie Brown to give them the early lead. They loaded the bases with two outs, and Brown ended up scoring on an error to make it 2-0. Hatton cut it to 2-1 in the second and then exploded for six runs in the fourth to take a 7-2 lead. The Lady Warriors looked to make a comeback to get back in the game. They cut it to 7-3 in their half of the fourth on an RBI single by Brinlee Phillips and completed the comeback in the fifth.
West Point was down to their final out, then their comeback started. Katie Beth Yovino hit a single to left field to keep things alive for the Lady Warriors, then Kylee Quinn lined an RBI double to right field to make it a 7-4 game. An error and a walk loaded the bases for Wilkins, who promptly cleared the bases as her three-run double tied the game up at seven. Two pitches later, Phillips hit the game-winning RBI single up the middle to help seal the 8-7 comeback win for the Lady Warriors.
Wilkins (three RBIs) and Phillips (two RBIs) each finished with a pair of hits for West Point, while Brown and Quinn each added a hit and an RBI in the win.
Russellville 16 – West Point 5 (Baseball)
Russellville got out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first two innings and quickly stretched their lead to 14-1 in the third. The Tigers kept West Point at arm’s length after that as they picked up a 16-5 win over the Warriors.
Gus McKenney finished with a hit and an RBI for West Point. Cade Welborn, J.D. Cochran, Jay Lamar and Cooper Howard each added a hit and scored a run in the loss.
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