GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The first two meetings between Good Hope and Hanceville saw the Lady Raiders win the first one in a high-scoring 11-7 affair. The second game, like the first one, saw them rally late to defeat the Lady Bulldogs in a pitcher’s duel, 2-1. The teams faced off against at Good Hope High on Monday afternoon, and Hanceville jumped out to an early lead and added to it in the fifth inning. Good Hope, though, like they’ve done in their previous meetings against Hanceville, rallied late in the game and a big sixth inning was paramount in their 5-4 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
Hanceville got to Good Hope starter Molly Benefield to start out the game. Kynzlee Farr drew a leadoff walk, then Benefield got the next two batters to strike out and fly out, respectively, as she was one out away from pitching a scoreless top of the first inning. Isabella Spinks, though, had other ideas, as she lined the 2-2 pitch into center field for an RBI double to give the Lady Bulldogs the early lead. Karrigan Pipkin hit a single up the middle, and Spinks and Pipkin moved up to third and second on the throw-in. Peyton Mariano drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, then two pitches later, an error on the Lady Raiders allowed Spinks to score to make it 2-0.
Makayla Butler took the mound for Hanceville, and after Lizzy Steed reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first, then stole second, Butler collected the final three outs of the inning to keep it at a 2-0 game. Benefield retired the Lady Bulldogs in order in the top of the second. Good Hope looked to get on the scoreboard in their half, as they put a pair of runners on base with two outs, but Butler struck out Bella White to get out of the inning unscathed. Hanceville put a couple of runners on base with one out in the top of the third but were unable to add onto their lead.
Good Hope quickly got something going against Butler in the bottom of the third. Kylee Smith drew a one-out walk, then Campbell Koch reached on an error. Later that inning, Benefield drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, but Butler got Carlee Trammell to ground out to end the inning. Benefield and Butler were in strikeout mode in the fourth inning, as they struck out a combined five out of the six hitters they faced. Hanceville got a lot of help from Good Hope’s defense in the top of the fifth. Farr reached on a one-out error and moved up to second on the play. After Benefield struck out Maddy Bryant, Butler reached on another Lady Raider error, then back-to-back errors allowed Farr and Butler to cross the plate to put the Lady Bulldogs up, 4-0.
Good Hope cracked the scoreboard and the hit column in the bottom of the fifth. Steed reached on an error to lead off the inning, then Smith doubled to left field for the Lady Raiders’ first hit of the game. Koch’s ground ball drove in Steed to cut it to 4-1, then Kynzlee Garmon followed that up with a sacrifice fly to make it a two-run game. Benefield continued to rack up the strikeouts, as she collected three more in the top of the sixth.
For the third straight game against Hanceville, Good Hope went off in the bottom of the sixth. Anna Agee lined a one-out single to right field, then she moved up to second on a passed ball. White hit a single to left field and ended up advancing to second on the throw-in. Back-to-back RBI singles by Steed and Smith tied the game up at four. On Smith’s RBI single, Steed advanced to third and Smith moved up to second on a Lady Bulldog error. Koch’s second RBI groundout of the game brought home Steed to give the Lady Raiders their first lead of the game at 5-4. Benefield retired Hanceville in order to end the game and help seal Good Hope’s 5-4 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
Koch drove in a pair of runs in the win for the Lady Raiders. Smith (two hits), Steed (one hit), and Garmon all collected an RBI in the game. Benefield gave up just four hits, four runs (one earned), walked two and struck out 15 in her complete game effort. For Hanceville, Spinks finished with a pair of hits and an RBI. Butler and Spinks combined to give up just four hits, five runs (two earned), walked three, and struck out five in the game for the Lady Bulldogs.
Good Hope will host Danville on Tuesday afternoon, while Hanceville will go to Cold Springs next Mondayafternoon.
