Softball roundup: Lady Tigers defeat Murray County, other locals fall
All four local high school softball teams were in action Thursday evening with Adairsville picking up the only local victory. Cartersville dropped a home game with Darlington, Woodland fell at home to Villa Rica, and Cass lost at Paulding County.
ADAIRSVILLE 8, MURRAY COUNTY 6
Adairsville held off a late charge by visiting Murray County Thursday night for an 8-6 Region 6-AAA win.
Loren Harris (7 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 2BB, 6K) earned the pitching win for the Lady Tigers. Taylor Rhodes (0.0 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H) faced four batters in the seventh inning.
Adairsville led 4-1 through three innings, but the Lady Indians narrowed the margin to 4-3 in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Adairsville added four more runs to go up 8-3 with Murray County rallying for three runs in the seventh to account for an 8-6 final score.
Sierra Tanner (RBI) had two hits for Adairsville. Seven other Tigers added one hit each including Natalie Burrow, Sadye Johnson (HR, 2 RBIs), Emily Collum (HR, 2 RBIs), Havyn Isaac (triple, 2 RBIs), Alexa Varner (double), and Harris (double), and Kelsie Burnett.
Murray County fell to 0-4 with the loss.
Adairsville (3-1, 2-1) opens the Dalton Tournament Saturday against LaFayette with additional opponents to be determined.
DARLINGTON 12, CARTERSVILLE 4
Cartersville softball lost to visiting Darlington Thursday evening at the Cartersville Sports Complex on Sugar Valley Road, 12-4.
The win by the visiting Tigers earned a two-game series split with the Lady Canes. Cartersville won the first meeting 15-4 last Saturday in Rome.
Darlington took a 4-1 lead after one inning and extended their lead to 8-2 after four frames. Cartersville scored twice in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 8-4, but that was as close as the Lady Canes would come.
Darlington totaled 11 hits in the non-region contest. Cartersville had seven hits.
Kathryne Ledbetter was the complete game pitching winner for Darlington.
Colbi Ballard (3.1 IP, 8ER, 7H, 7BB, 1K) was saddled with the pitching loss for Cartersville. AnnaKate McElhaney (3.2 IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H, 4BB, 1K) followed Ballard in the circle for the Canes.
Alex Gardner had a three-hit game for the visiting Tigers. Cardine Dingler added a pair of hits. Sydney Seymour had a hit and three RBIs. Olivia Adams and Josi McKibben drove home two runs each with a hit.
Lauren McElhaney, Paris Poston, and Kalli Scheff all had doubles for Cartersville. Cio Seigler drove in two runs with a hit. Ballard had one RBI and a hit. Allie Jackson and Jolea Prokop contributed base hits for Cartersville.
Darlington improved to 1-2 on the season.
Cartersville (1-3, 0-2) travels to Sandy Creek Tuesday and Chapel Hill Thursday for Region 5-AAAA games. Both are set for 5:55 pm first pitch.
PAULDING COUNTY 14, CASS 2
The Cass softball team is still seeking its first victory of the 2017 season after dropping a 14-2 decision Thursday night at Paulding County.
Paulding County scored four runs in the first inning and added five more in both the second and third innings for their double-digit win.
Cass committed seven errors in the four-inning loss and managed only one hit for the second straight game. Paulding County only had four hits.
Only five of the Lady Patriots runs were earned off Cass pitchers Taylor Gibson and Haley Owens. Gibson struck out one and did not allow a hit in one inning in the circle although she walked five. Owens walked four and struck out three in two innings.
Lexi Brendal and Madelyn Wagar had two hits each for Paulding County. Brandal drove in four runs and one of her hits was a triple. Brandal added one RBI. Abbie Crawford and Ariel Romines both contributed a pair of RBIs for the Lady Patriots.
Kaila Carson had the Lady Colonels’ only base hit. Mae Mae McIntyre and Sarah Moore each drove in a run for Cass.
Paulding County improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in Region 7-AAAAA.
Cass (0-3, 0-1) plays at Hiram Tuesday at 5:30 pm and travels to Villa Rica next Thursday for a 5:55 pm start. The Lady Colonels will then play four games in the Allatoona Buccaneer Bash hosting Campbell and Sequoyah Friday at Stars Field, home of Georgia Highlands College, and traveling to Kennesaw Mountain Saturday to face Coffee County and Sonoraville.
VILLA RICA 13, WOODLAND 3
Woodland stood toe-to-toe with visiting Villa Rica Thursday night for five innings, but Villa Rica scored 11 runs in the top of the sixth to break open a 2-2 game on their way to a six-inning, 13-3 defeat of the Lady Cats.
Villa Rica out hit Woodland 15-4 and Woodland also committed six errors in the game.
Villa Rica had four players combine for 11 hits, including a pair of home runs and 11 RBIs. Madi Langford led that group with four hits and three RBIs.
Abbey Gamble (6 IP, 3R, 1ER, 4H, 3BB, 0K) was the winning pitcher. Woodland’s Sarah Baynard (6 IP, 13R, 2ER, 15H, 1BB, 0K) took the loss.
Woodland plays at Kell Tuesday at 5:55 pm before hosting Hiram Thursday at 5:55 pm. The Lady Cats will then help host the Allatoona Buccaneer Bash on Friday and Saturday (August 25-26) with the Lady Cats playing four games against Armuchee, Sprayberry, Campbell, and Sequoyah.
