GOOD HOPE, Ala. — The Good Hope Lady Raiders were back home hosting this year’s 4A, Area 13 tournament on Saturday and they kicked off their postseason run with a pair of wins over East Lawrence and Danville. Good Hope got the day started with an 8-3 win over the Eagles and wrapped up the night with a 13-5 win over the Hawks.
Good Hope 8 – East Lawrence 3 (Game One)
The Good Hope Lady Raiders struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Kylee Smith drew a one-out walk and later scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Raiders the early lead. Haley Lay drew a walk of her own with two outs, then Molly Johnson, her courtesy runner, stole second and ended up scoring on a passed ball to make it 2-0. Addyson Burgess drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the second, then Gracie Garmon, her courtesy runner, would later score on a passed ball to stretch Good Hope’s lead to 3-0.
The Lady Raiders put the first two runners on base to lead off the bottom of the third. Later that inning, Campbell Koch scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0. On the next pitch, Natalie Miller hit an RBI single to put Good Hope ahead 5-0. East Lawrence scored a run in the next three innings to cut it to 5-3, but the Lady Raiders responded in the bottom of the sixth. They loaded the bases to lead off the inning, then with one out, Koch’s sacrifice fly made it 6-3. Lay and Molly Benefield each hit an RBI single and an RBI double, respectively, to increase their lead to 8-3. After giving up a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, Burgess collected the final three outs of the game to help seal the 8-3 win for Good Hope.
Miller (two hits), Lay (one hit), Benefield (one hit), and Koch all drove in a run in the game for the Lady Raiders. Burgess went the distance to collect the win for Good Hope, as she allowed six hits, three earned runs, walked three, and struck out two.
Good Hope 13 – Danville 5 (Game Two)
Both teams didn’t waste any time lighting up the scoreboard to start out the game. Good Hope batted around in their opening at-bats. They quickly loaded the bases to start out the game, and Haley Lay drove in a run on a ground ball to give them a 1-0 lead. Molly Benefield hit an RBI double to center field to make it 2-0, and Koch scored on a passed ball to put the Lady Raiders ahead 3-0. Natalie Miller made it 4-0 on an RBI single to left field, and a ground ball by Brooklyn Lambert drove in Miller to extend their lead to 5-0. Maggie O’Neil kept the onslaught going for Good Hope, as she hit an RBI triple to center field to put them ahead 6-0. Lizzy Steed added an RBI single to left field to make it 7-0.
Danville put up four runs in their half to cut it to 7-4. The Lady Raiders loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third, and Kylee Smith drew a bases-loaded walk to give them an 8-4 lead. Back-to-back RBI singles by Koch and Lay drove in two more runs to make it 10-4, but the Lady Hawks trimmed the deficit to 10-5 on an RBI double in their half. The score remained the same until the top of the sixth, as Steed knocked a single into left field to drive in Addyson Burgess to make it 11-5. Koch drew a leadoff walk and later scored on an error to extend Good Hope’s lead to 12-5 in the top of the seventh. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Burgess sent a single to right field to plate Molly Johnson to give the Lady Raiders a 13-5 lead. Benefield collected the final three outs of the game to help persevere the 13-5 win for Good Hope.
Good Hope’s entire lineup drove in at least one run in the game. Steed and Lay each collected three hits and a pair of RBIs in the win. Burgess added three hits and an RBI, and Miller added a pair of hits and an RBI.
Mortimer Jordan 9 – Cullman 0 (Game One)
It was all Lady Blue Devils from the start in their area tournament game against Cullman, as they would go on to shut out the Lady Bearcats 9-0.
Allie Johnson led the way for Cullman with a pair of hits, while Abby Maples, Reese Hopper, and Kynlei Storey all added a hit of their own in the loss.
Mortimer Jordan 6 – Cullman 5 (Game Two)
Cullman took on Mortimer Jordan in the loser’s bracket game, and the Lady Blue Devils hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. Cullman loaded the bases in the top of the second, and Dracen Bates scored on an error to cut it to 3-1. Mortimer Jordan added a run of their own in their half to make it 4-1, but Cullman trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the top of third on an RBI double by Hopper. The Lady Bearcats would take the lead in the top of the sixth.
They would load the bases to lead off the inning, then one out later, Leighton McGriff lined an RBI single to right field to make it a one-run game. Allie Johnson then ripped a two-run double to left field to give Cullman a 5-4 lead. They looked to hold on to the lead in the bottom of the seventh, but a single by the Lady Blue Devils tied the game up at five. Later that inning, an error allowed Mortimer Jordan to score the game-winning run, and Cullman’s season comes to an end, as they ended up dropping their game to the Lady Blue Devils 6-5.
Johnson finished with a hit and two RBIs for Cullman, while Hopper and McGriff each added a pair of hits and an RBI in the loss.
Arab 15 – Fairview 3 (Game One)
Fairview got on the scoreboard first in their opening at-bats. They loaded the bases with one out, and Addison Phillips got hit by the pitch to force home a run and give the Lady Aggies a 1-0 lead. For the second straight inning, Fairview loaded the bases with one out, and Kila Gunter scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0. Phillips led off the top of the third with a double and later scored on an RBI single by Kayleigh Hill to stretch the Lady Aggie lead to 3-0. Unfortunately, though, that would be the last run that Fairview would score in the game, as Arab scored the final 15 runs of the game, and they would go on to defeat the Lady Aggies 15-3.
Ava Pruett, Phillips, and Hill all finished with a hit and an RBI for Fairview.
Fairview 19 – Guntersville 4 (Game Two)
Fairview’s season was on the line in their loser’s bracket game against Guntersville, and their offense quickly got going in the bottom of the first inning. Kylie Kovar got the scoring started for the Lady Aggies with an inside-the-park solo home run with one out, then they loaded the bases, and Hill lined a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0. Ralie Gaines followed that up with a two-run double to stretch their lead to 5-0. An error allowed Guntersville to cut it to 5-1 in the top of the second, but Fairview quickly responded in their half.
Ayda Payne hit a solo home run with one out to make it 6-1, then later that inning, Gaines drove in a run on a ground ball, and Fales made it 8-1 on an RBI double. The Lady Wildcats trimmed the deficit to 8-3 in the top of the third, but Fairview made it 12-3 in their half on a two-run double by Phillips, an RBI triple by Hill, and a passed ball. Guntersville added a run in the fourth to make it 12-4, but the Lady Aggies quickly ended things in their half. A bases-loaded walk, a two-run double by Payne, a two-run single by Phillips, a passed ball, and an RBI double by Gunter put the finishing touches on a 19-4 win for Fairview.
Phillips finished with a pair of hits and four RBIs for the Lady Aggies. Payne and Hill each posted a pair of hits and three RBIs. Gaines collected a hit and three RBIs, while Kovar (three hits), Fales (one hit), Gunter (one hit), and Pruett all drove in a run in the game for Fairview. Payne went the distance to collect the win for the Lady Aggies, as she allowed seven hits, one earned run, walked three, and struck out four.
Russellville 6 – West Point 5 (Extra Innings)
The Lady Golden Tigers hit an RBI single in their opening at-bats to take the early lead, but the Lady Warriors would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Katie Beth Yovino led off the inning with a single, and after she stole second, she scored on an error a few pitches later to tie the game up at one. During the play, Lauren Windham advanced to third on the error, and Cabri Blackwood drove her in on a bunt single to give them a 2-1 lead. Russellville tied the game up at two in the top of the fourth on an RBI double, and they added two more runs in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.
West Point was down to their last at-bats in the seventh, but they quickly cooked something up with two outs. Windham hit the first pitch she saw into left field for a double, and Blackwood followed that up with a double of her own to cut it to 4-3. On the first pitch, Macie Brown hit a huge RBI single to left field to tie the game up at four. They couldn’t break the tie, so the game ended up going into extra innings. The Lady Tigers took a 6-4 lead in extra innings on back-to-back errors, but West Point looked to answer right back in their half.
Back-to-back singles quickly put runners on first and second with one out, then Kylie Burks hit the first pitch she saw into right field for an RBI single to trim the deficit to 6-5. A hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out, but two straight outs ended the Lady Warriors’ chances of winning the game, as they ended up falling just short in the end to Russellville, 6-5. Blackwood finished with a pair of hits and two RBIs for West Point, while Brown (two hits) and Burks (one hit) each drove in a run in the loss.
