Lady Lions Thump Lady Jackets, 15-0
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY – The Lovelady Lady Lions welcomed the Alto Lady Yellowjackets to town on Tuesday evening for a District 21-2A matchup and showed no mercy on their guests as the Lady Lions swatted the Lady Jackets by a score of 15-0.
Mimi Sandoval was in the circle for Lovelady and struggled a little at the start. She gave up a lead-off single to Kylee Powers but erased her off the bath paths when Shanna Berryhill lined into a 6-3 double play. Sandoval hit the next batter she faced but forced Halle Duplichain to foul out to third to end the top half of the first.
Duplichain was in the circle for Alto and she ran into trouble early on. She walked Mihyia Davis to open the bottom of the first. Davis stole second and then Duplichain hit Scout Lovell with a pitch. With Sandoval at the plate, a double steal moved Davis to third and Lovell to second.
Two pitches later, a passed ball allowed Davis to scamper home while Lovell took third on the play. Sandoval drew a walk to put runners on the corners and moved to second when Linda Martinez was hit by a pitch.
Morgan Womack was up next and settled into the batter’s box with the bases loaded. After fouling off the first pitch, Womack watched four pitches go by out of the strike zone to push Lovell across the dish with the Lady Lions’ second run of the game.
Rylee Biedrzycki followed in the batting order and lofted a fly ball to center which allowed Shyanne Pipkin – who had come in as a courtesy runner for Sandoval – to tag up and score.
After giving up a walk to Haven Prager, Duplichain settled down to retire Bailee Albinus and Morgan Womack and bring the first inning to a close, with the score 3-0.
Sandoval returned to the circle in the second inning and mowed down the Alto line-up, striking out the side on 15 pitches.
When the Lady Lions came in from the field, they scored nine runs to put the game out of reach. Davis led off the bottom of the second with a walk and moved up a base when Lovell was hit by a pitch. Sandoval flew out to center but on the play, Davis tagged up and moved to third.
Martinez was up next and was hit by a pitch. Womack followed in the batting order and she was also hit by a pitch which pushed Davis across the plate. A wild pitch from Duplichain allowed Lovell to race home while Martinez and Womack both moved up a base.
Biedrzycki drew a walk to reload the bases and when Prager walked, Martinez trotted home to make the score 6-0. Albinus was also walked which brought in Womack from third. LaRue was up next and she singled to left to drive in Biedrzycki and Prager.
That brought the top of the order up once again in the inning and on the first pitch she saw in her second at-bat of the second, Davis blasted a moon shot over the right centerfield fence to make the score 12-0.
That was all Lovelady would get in the second. Both teams went quietly in the third and the Lady Yellowjackets were unable to put anyone on in the top of the fourth.
With the score still 12-0, the Lady Lions took care of business in the bottom of the fourth and ended the game, invoking the 15-run mercy rule.
Albinus led off for Lovelady and fanned on a full count. LaRue followed with a base knock into center and scored when Davis ripped a single into right. An error on the play allowed the speedy Davis to race around the bases and cross the dish before Alto could get the ball back into the infield, which made the score 14-0.
Lovell was up next and drew a walk. She stole second with Sandoval at the plate and took third on a wild pitch. Sandoval struck out to bring Martinez up to bat.
Two pitches later, however, a passed ball allowed Lovell to scamper home and end the game with the score 15-0. The win moves the Lady Lions’ overall record to 19-4-2, keeps them undefeated in district play and clinches a postseason berth.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
