Local softball roundup, March 9-14: Russellville grabs two blowout victories to end week
Here’s a look at the softball action from teams around Franklin County:
Tuesday, March 10
Belgreen 8, East Lawrence 6
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Belgreen scored seven unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 7-2 lead. The Lady Bulldogs weathered a three-run fifth inning by East Lawrence before adding a final run in the sixth to hold off the visitors and win by two runs. Catcher Marlie Terry and shortstop Kendra Williams led BHS with two RBIs each. Zoe Blaxton and Brooklyn McGaughy combined in the circle to help Belgreen to the win. Blaxton pitched four and a third and allowed five runs, two earned, on five hits; McGaughy finished the game out and allowed one earned run off two hits.
Tharptown 8, Cherokee 4
Tharptown doubled up on the visitors from Cherokee to start its week of play. Led by three hits and two RBIs from first baseman Lexi Little, the Lady Wildcats outhit Cherokee 10 to two. After giving up a run in the top of the first inning, THS answered with three runs in the bottom half and then tacked on four more runs in the third. Tharptown rounded out its scoring with a solo run in the fifth. In the circle, senior Alyssa Fischer tossed four and a third innings, allowing three earned runs off one hit. Cadence Kennedy came in in relief and allowed one unearned run off one hit through two and two-thirds innings.
Sulligent 16, Red Bay 5
Thursday, March 12
Colbert County 10, Belgreen 0
Austin 13, Russellville 4
Lexington 14, Tharptown 7
Mars Hill 11, Phil Campbell 5
Phil Campbell came up short in their one area contest of the week, falling to Mars Hill by six runs. It was the start of a tough, winless week for the Lady Bobcats. Against Mars Hill, PCHS fell behind 4-0 but battled back to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fourth. In the third inning, Shiloh Madden drove in two runs on a single to right field to make it 4-2; then, in the fourth inning, PCHS grabbed three more runs on an RBI triple by Katelin Hester and RBI singles from Madison Baker and Georgia Motes. Mars Hill responded in the bottom half of the inning, however, and wound up scoring seven unanswered to close out the contest. Addi James threw all six innings for the Lady Bobcats, allowing 11 runs—10 of those were earned—on 15 hits.
Hackleburg 15, Vina 0
Hackleburg 16, Vina 1
Friday, March 13
Tharptown 9, Dora 3
Meek 2, Tharptown 1
Belgreen 3, Belmont 3
Deshler 6, Russellville 3
Sulligent 5, Russellville 0
Winfield City 17, Phil Campbell 3
Collinwood 15, Phil Campbell 0
Saturday, March 14
Hatton 9, Phil Campbell 1
Russellville 11, Oakman 0
The Lady Golden Tigers picked up the first of two shutout victories on Saturday with an 11-0 win over Class 3A Oakman at the TimesDaily Tournament. Behind a 3-for-3 day at the plate from shortstop Bri McCulloch, RHS outhit the Lady Wildcats 10-3 over five innings of play. Russellville plated one run in the first after McCulloch stole home, added three more in the second on three straight RBI at-bats, pushed two more across in the third inning, and then finished strong with a five-run fifth that saw RBI singles from Khristyan Huerta and Kaylee Suggs, an RBI triple by Blevyn Sappington, and an RBI double by Sadie Odom. In the circle, starting pitcher Taitum Bishop threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out five batters.
Brooks 6, Russellville 4
Rogers 15, Phil Campbell 5
Tharptown 4, Lamar County 1
A RBI single by Allie Gann in the first inning scored the first run of four the Lady Wildcats would put past Lamar County in their penultimate contest of the week. Gann, who led THS with two RBIs, drove in her team’s second run on a single in the third inning to make it 2-0. Tharptown’s final two runs came in the sixth inning via a Cadence Kennedy RBI ground out and an RBI single by Natalee Franks. Senior Alyssa Fischer pitched all six innings and recorded the win for THS, allowing one earned run off three hits while striking out four batters.
Tharptown went on to finish the week with an 8-8 record.
Colbert County 8, Tharptown 0
Deshler 9, Phil Campbell 0
Russellville 10, Clements 0
The Lady Golden Tigers rounded out the TimesDaily Tournament in Muscle Shoals with one more blowout victory. Once again Russellville was able to jump out early and then finish strong: RHS scored three runs in the first inning, added solo runs in the second and third, and closed the scoring with a five-run fourth inning that included back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Ticelee Gholston, Bri McCulloch, and Kaylee Suggs. Centerfielder Blevyn Sappington had a perfect 3-for-3 day at the dish and three Lady Golden Tigers had two-RBI days. Taitum Bishop added another win to her record in the circle, throwing five shutout innings. Bishop allowed just one hit and no walks and she struck out four batters.
Russellville ended the week with a 6-6 overall record.
Belgreen 8, Cherokee 3
Using an explosive six-run first inning, led by an RBI single from pitcher Brooklyn McGaughy, who recorded the win in the circle, and a two-run double by Marlie Terry, the Lady Bulldogs picked up a comfortable victory over the Lady Indians at the end of the week. Leadoff Bryn Scott led BHS with two hits and two runs scored. In addition to McGaughy’s three innings in the circle, Jemma Moore also threw two innings and struck out three batters.
Belgreen finished the week with a 4-3-1 overall record.
Tishimingo County 5, Belgreen 1