WEST POINT, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders traveled to West Point for a varsity matchup with the Warriors Thursday night and this county battle came down to the wire. Good Hope took a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh but West Point plated a pair of runs in the final frame to take a 7-6 win over the Raiders.
Good Hope struck first in the top of the second inning. They had runners on second and third with one out, then Nash Landon put the Raiders on the scoreboard first on a ground ball. A Warrior error allowed Colbi Kilpatrick to score to make it 2-0, then two batters later, Kane Anderson lined a two-run double to right field to extend their lead to 4-0. An RBI single by Caden Drake in the top of the third made it 5-0.
West Point got something going in their half of the third. Carter McAfee reached on an infield single with one out, then Boston Freeman lined an RBI triple to left field to cut it to 5-1. They quickly loaded the bases with one out, then Freeman scored on a wild pitch, and a passed ball allowed Titan Thornton to cross the plate to make it 5-3. The score remained the same until the sixth inning. The Warriors had runners on first and second with one out. then Skylar Echols drove in a run on a bunt single, as that made it 5-4. They loaded the bases with two outs, and Freeman got hit by the pitch to tie the game up at five.
Carter Rutherford hit a triple to lead off the seventh inning for the Raiders. After a walk, Mason Drake’s sacrifice fly brought home Rutherford to give Good Hope a 6-5 lead. The Warriors responded in their half. A double and a hit by pitch put runners on first and second to lead off the inning, and Jay Lamar hit a huge RBI double to right field to tie the game up at six. An intentional walk loaded the bases and one out later, Hunter Graves walked it off with an RBI single and sealed a 7-6 win over the Raiders.
Freeman finished with a hit and two RBIs for the Warriors, while Lamar, Echols, and Graves each added a hit and an RBI in the win. For Good Hope, Anderson finished with a hit and two RBIs. Caden Drake (two hits), Mason Drake (one hit), and Landon (one hit) each posted an RBI in the game.
Cold Springs 7 – Holly Pond 2 (Baseball)
A pair of RBI doubles by Boston Archer and Brady Phillips gave Cold Springs a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Holly Pond got something going in the top of the fourth inning. Boston Gibbs scored on a wild pitch, and Ty Dunn’s RBI groundout tied the game up at two. The Eagles broke the tie in their half. Matt Williams hit an RBI single to give them a 3-2 lead, then he, along with Mason Gable, scored on a Bronco error to make it 5-2. Cold Springs made it 6-2 in the fifth on a suicide squeeze play by Phillips, and they scored their final run of the game in their next at-bats, as an RBI single off the bat of Lindan Hill put the final score at 7-2.
Phillips led the way for Cold Springs with a hit and two RBIs, while Hill, Archer, and Williams each collected a hit and an RBI in the win. Black went the distance for the Eagles, as he allowed just four hits and two earned runs and struck out nine. For Holly Pond, Dunn finished with an RBI. Sawyer Olinger added three hits, and Gibbs added one of his own in the game.
Cullman 7 – Mountain Brook 1 (Softball)
After a scoreless first inning, Cullman struck first in the bottom of the second. They had runners on first and second to lead off the inning, then Presley Burden lined an RBI double to left field to give them the early lead. One out later, Dracen Bates scored on a Mountain Brook error to make it 2-0. Burden scored on a fielder’s choice, and Samantha Johnson drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0. The Lady Bearcats added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Burden hit her second RBI double of the game and later scored on an error to extend their lead to 6-0.
Abby Maples’ RBI single in the bottom of the fifth made it 7-0, and that was more than enough run support for the duo of Kynlei Storey and Summer Storey, as the Lady Bearcats ended up defeating Mountain Brook, 7-1.
Burden finished with a pair of RBI doubles in the win for Cullman. Maples (one hit), Johnson (one hit), and Johnson all drove in a run for the Lady Bearcats. Kynlei and Summer Storey combined to give up just four hits and one earned run, walked one, and struck out 11.
West Point 11 – Fairview 9 (Softball)
Fairview got on the scoreboard first in its opening at-bats. Kylie Kovar hit a one-out single, and one out later, Ayda Payne hit a two-run home run over the center field fence to give them an early 2-0 lead. West Point loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the second, and Kylie Burks drew a bases-loaded walk, then Lauren Wyndham got hit by the pitch to tie the game up at two. The Lady Aggies broke the tie in the bottom of the third. Ava Pruett hit a one-out home run to give them a 3-2 lead, then later in the inning, Addison Phillips hit an RBI double, and Ralie Gaines added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
Wyndham’s RBI single in the top of the third made it 5-3. The Lady Warriors knotted things up at five in the fifth on a two-run double by Kortni Baker. West Point got a two-out rally started in the sixth inning. Brayley Phillips hit an RBI double, and Averee Folds followed that up with a two-run single to give them an 8-5 lead. Wyndham and Katie Beth Yovino both scored on a Lady Aggie error in the top of the seventh, then Phillips added an RBI double to extend their lead to 11-5. Fairview made things a little interesting in their half. Emily Benson and Kovar both scored on a West Point error to cut it to 11-7. Later in the inning, Pruett scored on a fielder’s choice, and Josie Earl hit an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Kara Jones, though, struck out the next batter to end the game, as West Point ended up holding off Fairview at the end, 11-9.
Wyndham (two hits), Phillips (two hits), Folds (one hit), and Baker (one hit) all drove in a pair of runs for the Lady Warriors, while Burks added a hit and an RBI of her own in the win. For Fairview, Pruett finished with the home run and three RBIs. Payne added a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Phillips (two hits), Gaines (one hit), Ada Fales (one hit) and Earl (one hit) all drove in a run in the loss for the Lady Aggies.
Good Hope 7 – Vinemont 0 (Softball)
Good Hope struck first in the top of the second inning. They quickly put runners on first and second with one out, and Kylee Smith hit a two-run triple to right field to give the Lady Raiders the early lead. Gracie Garmon followed that up with an RBI groundout to make it 3-0. Good Hope stretched their lead to 4-0 in the fourth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Haley Lay. The Lady Raiders extended their lead to 6-0 in the top of the fifth on a pair of RBI singles by Garmon and Lizzy Steed. Natalie Miller hit a solo home run in the sixth to make it 7-0, and Good Hope would go on to shut out Vinemont, 7-0.
Smith and Garmon each finished with a hit and two RBIs for the Lady Raiders. Steed ended up going five-for-five with an RBI. Miller went three-for-three with the solo home run, while Lay added a hit and an RBI. Molly Benefield went the distance for Good Hope, as she gave up just two singles and struck out 14. Abby Kuykendall and Tori Vines finished with the only hits of the game for the Lady Eagles.
Vinemont 12 – East Lawrence 2 (Baseball)
Vinemont got on the scoreboard in its opening at-bats. Jake Hale hit a one-out triple and scored on an RBI single by Rylan McRae to give them the early lead. They loaded the bases later that inning, and Josh Rhodes drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0. McRae hit his second RBI single of the game in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 3-0. Chad Reynolds scored on an error in the bottom of the third to make it 4-0. East Lawrence cut it to 4-2 in the top of the fourth, but Vinemont quickly pulled away after that.
Hayden Robinson hit an RBI single, and Owen McKinney scored on an error to give Vinemont a 6-2 lead going into the fifth inning. Vinemont broke the game wide open in the fifth, as an RBI triple by Kayden Henderson and an RBI single by Hale made it 8-2. McRae scored on a wild pitch, then Tucker Mauter added an RBI single, and Nicolas Jankowski drew a bases-loaded walk to stretch their lead to 11-2. McKinney’s RBI single in the sixth ended the game, and Vinemont would go on to defeat East Lawrence, 12-2.
McRae finished with a pair of hits and two RBIs for Vinemont. Robinson (four hits), McKinney (three hits), Henderson (two hits), Hale (two hits), and Mauter (one hit) all collected an RBI in the game, while Rhodes and Jankowski drove in a run as well in the win. Banks Borwick and Ryne Dalton kept East Lawrence’s bats in check throughout the whole game, as they gave up just two hits and one earned run, walked four, and struck out five.
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