CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman returned home to host the Lady Tigers of Hartselle for an important area showdown and seven innings weren’t enough to settle things between the two rivals. After falling behind 5-4 in the top of the seventh, Savannah Davis lifted a solo homer over the fence in center field to tie things up and force extra innings. However, the Lady Tigers were able to plate two more runs in the top of the eight and kept the Lady Bearcats off the board in the bottom half of the inning to take home a 7-5 win.
After a scoreless opening frame, Hartselle was the first team to get on the board in the top of the second with a solo homerun that made it a 1-0 game. Cullman responded in the bottom of the third when Davis drove in Sarah Herfurth with an RBI single, and the Lady Bearcats pulled ahead 2-1 going into the fourth after an RBI double from Chalea Clemmons.
Cullman added to its lead in the fifth. After a bunt single from Haley Shannon gave the ‘Cats a base runner, Clemmons crushed a 2-run bomb out of center field to stretch the lead to 4-1 going into the sixth. The Lady Tigers were able to string some hits together and cut the lead to 4-3 in the top half of the sixth and an RBI double scored two more runs and gave Hartselle a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh.
Davis kept Cullman alive with a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh and forced extra innings but another RBI double plated two more runs for the Lady Tigers in the top of the eighth. The Lady Bearcats were unable to muster another response in the bottom of the eighth and dropped a tight area game to Hartselle 7-5.
Clemmons tossed all innings for Cullman, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and striking out 10 batters. Clemmons also with a pair of hits and three RBIs in the loss. Davis posted three hits and drove in a pair of runs and Shannon added a pair of hits as well.
The Lady Bearcats will be back in action at home Thursday to host another area matchup against Decatur.
Other Tuesday scores:
Cullman 2 – Hartselle 1 (Baseball)
Just up the road in Hartselle, the ‘Cats and Tigers were renewing their rivalry on the diamond with a big area win on the line and Hayden Stancil led the way on the mound in Cullman’s 2-1 win. Stancil got the start and the win after pitching a complete game and allowing just one run on two hits, striking out six batters in the process.
After a scoreless first inning, the Bearcats got their first run on the board in the top of the second with an RBI double off the bat of Paxton Ponder. Cullman added to its lead in the top of the third with an RBI groundout from Max Dueland that allowed Brennen Norton to score and make it a 2-0 game.
Both starting pitchers cruised through the next few innings and the Tigers managed to scratch a run across in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early lead and the ‘Cats held on to pick up an important, 2-1 area win on the road.
Max Dueland (one hit) and Ponder (one hit) each posted an RBI in the win and Norton, Jake Dueland and Hunter Brooks each added a hit as well. Cullman will be back home Thursday night with a chance to take the series over Hartselle.
Cold Springs 9 – Holly Pond 5 (Baseball)
Cold Springs hosted Holly Pond in a doubleheader on Tuesday as the Eagles looked to snap a three-game losing streak and the Broncos looked to extend its winning streak to four. In game one, the Eagles got off to a quick start offensively and they held off a late mini-rally by the Broncos to take the game, 9-5.
Holly Pond got on the scoreboard first to open up the game. Hunter Farr drew a leadoff walk and Thomas Bell reached on an error, then back-to-back sacrifice flies by Andy Light and Seth Whiting gave the Broncos a quick 2-0 lead. But Cold Springs countered in its opening at-bats as Ayden Alexander hit a leadoff single and later scored on a Holly Pond error to make it 2-1, then the Eagles’ Andrew Weaver hit a two-run single to center field to give them a 3-2 lead.
Cold Springs added to its lead in the bottom of the second as Brodi Williams hit an RBI double to center field and Roberto Ayala scored on a passed ball to make it 5-2. The Eagles pushed across three more runs in the third as Cody Bales scored on a wild pitch and Williams added a two-run single to stretch the Cold Springs lead to 8-2. The Broncos looked to cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles by Charlie Huddleston and John Martin made it an 8-4 game, but the Eagles’ Cody Smith scored on a wild pitch to make it a five-run game after five innings.
Holly Pond looked for a late rally in their final at-bats. Light drew a leadoff walk and Whiting reached on an error, then Huddleston lined an RBI double to left field to cut the deficit to four at 9-5, but that was as close as they would get as the Eagles’ Brady Phillips retired the final three batters to end the game and Cold Springs wound up getting the win in game one, 9-5. Brodi Williams finished with two hits and three RBIs for Cold Springs. Weaver added a hit and two RBIs, while Alexander added three hits and Smith collected a hit. Holly Pond was led by Huddleston (two RBIs) and Martin (RBI), who collected the only three hits of the game for the Broncos, while Light and Whiting each added an RBI.
Holly Pond 4 – Cold Springs 3 (Baseball) (game two)
Cold Springs’ Cody Bales and Holly Pond’s Andy Light started out the game strong, striking out a combined six hitters through the first two innings as they kept the game scoreless going into the third inning. Bales struck out the first two hitters to start out the third inning, then Holly Pond got a rally going as Austin Marsh reached on an error and Hunter Farr hit an infield single. Thomas Bell lined a two-run double to center field to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead, but the Eagles got those runs back in their half.
Roberto Ayala reached on a one-out error and later scored on a Brodi Williams RBI single; Williams later scored on a Josh Winfrey RBI single to tie the game up at two. Holly Pond broke the tie in the fourth inning as Marsh hit an RBI single and Jacob Holderfield stole home to give them a 4-2 lead. The Eagles made it a 4-3 game in the bottom of the fifth on a Winfrey sacrifice fly and neither team scored again after that as the Broncos wound up taking game two, 4-3.
Bell led the way for Holly Pond with two hits and two RBIs. Marsh added a hit and an RBI while Farr and Whiting each collected a hit. Light went 6.2 innings, giving up just two hits and three runs, one of them was earned, walking two and striking out 10. For Cold Springs, Winfrey (two RBIs) and Williams (one RBI) had the only two hits of the game for the Eagles and Bales went the distance as he allowed just six hits and four runs, none of them were earned, walked two and struck out five. Both teams will play in the Cullman County baseball tournament on Friday.
Guntersville 16 – Fairview 4 (Softball)
The Lady Aggies were back home hosting Guntersville and the Lady Wildcats scored early and often in a 16-4 win over Fairview. Guntersville plated four runs in the first and four more in the second to take an 8-0 lead before stretching it to 16-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.
Deavan Fulmer drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in a run and make it 16-1 and Kaitlyn Benson laced a 3-run triple into right field to cut the lead to 16-4 but the Lady Aggies weren’t able to get any closer than that.
Benson posted a pair of hits and three RBIs for Fairview in the loss and Kloie Watson added a hit for the Lady as well.
Phil Campbell 14 – Vinemont 1 (Baseball)
The Eagles had their hands full with Phil Campbell in an area matchup Tuesday night. Vinemont posted just two hits in the loss and the Bobcats took a big lead in the first two innings before pulling away to take the game 14-1.
Mason McKinney and Ayden Thomason recorded the only two hits for the Eagles in the loss.
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