Florence, Ala. – The 4A North Regionals at Florence got underway on Monday morning, and the Good Hope Lady Raiders took on the Curry Lady Yellow Jackets in the first round. It was close from beginning to end, but Good Hope put up a run in the first, third, and fourth inning. That was more than enough run support for starter Molly Benefield, as she pitched the entire game, giving up two earned runs and struck out six in the Lady Raiders’ 3-2 win over Curry. Their next opponent was Central-Florence, a team that rolled past Cordova to start out their postseason. Just like in the first game, though, it was a pitcher’s duel, and Benefield pitched a complete game seven-hit shutout, striking out seven, as RBIs from Lizzy Steed and Kynzlee Garmon helped them get past the Lady Wildcats, 2-0, to move on to the next round.
Good Hope 3 – Curry 2 (Game One)
Good Hope got things started in their opening at-bats. Steed led off the game with a walk then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kylee Smith. Two pitches later, Campbell Koch reached on an error, and that allowed Steed to score to give the Lady Raiders the early lead. Curry responded in their half. Shileigh Williams drew a one-out walk and ended up stealing second on the first pitch. Ralee Dunagan’s RBI single to left field tied it up at one.
After a scoreless second inning, Good Hope broke the tie in the top of the third. Steed led things off for the Lady Raiders with a single, then another sacrifice bunt by Smith moved Steed over to second. Two pitches later, Koch hit an RBI double to center field to put Good Hope up, 2-1. The Lady Raiders added to their lead in the fourth. Kynzlee Garmon led off the inning with a single on the first pitch, then one out later, Anna Agee drew a walk to put runners at first and second. After starter Skiely Perry struck out Bella White, Steed drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Garmon scored on a passed ball to make it 3-1.
The Lady Yellow Jackets cooked up a two-out rally against Benefield in the bottom of the fifth. Ansley Brown hit a single to center field. After she stole second, Williams hit an RBI triple to right field to bring home Brown, but Maddie Speegle threw it to Smith, who then proceeded to throw it to Steed to nail Williams at the plate to keep it at a one-run game. That ended up being a crucial play in the game, as Benefield quickly went into shut down mode after that, allowing just a single hit in the final two innings, and finished off the 3-2 win over Curry by striking out Emma Sides.
Koch finished with a hit and an RBI for Good Hope, while Steed, Garmon, and Carlee Trammell each collected a hit in the game.
Good Hope 2 – Central-Florence 0 (Game Two)
Starters Devyn Green and Molly Benefield pitched a scoreless first inning, and the only runs of the game would come in the top of the second. Benefield hit a one-out double, then Ella Agee, Benefield’s pinch-runner, moved up to third on a passed ball. On the next pitch, Garmon hit an RBI single to left field to give the Lady Raiders the early lead. Later that inning, Anna Agee hit a double to center field to put runners at second and third with two outs, then a walk by White loaded the bases. Steed’s RBI single to left field drove in Garmon to put Good Hope up, 2-0.
Izzy Miller led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple, but Benefield collected three straight outs to get out of the inning unscathed. The Lady Wildcats put a couple of runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the third and in the bottom of the sixth, but some big pitches down the stretch by Benefield kept them out of the run column. Paislee Ticer hit a two-out double in Central-Florence’s final at-bats. Benefield, though, got Abigail Brooks to pop out on the first pitch to help seal the Lady Raiders’ 2-0 shutout win over the Lady Wildcats.
Steed and Garmon each finished with a pair of hits and an RBI in the win for Good Hope (17-16).
The Lady Raiders will face off against a familiar area foe, the West Morgan Lady Rebels, on Tuesday afternoon at 12:15 p.m. in the winner’s bracket semifinals.
