HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Hanceville Lady Bulldogs, host of the Class 3A, Area 12 softball tournament, took on Locust Fork after taking down J.B. Pennington 8-3 earlier on Friday. Hanceville struck early, and held on to their lead with stellar defense to advance to the area championship game Monday night.
Taking the mound for the home team was KK Butler, who put on a show, striking out 13 Hornet batters and only gave up three hits across seven innings. On the other side, Brylee Calloway put up a solid performance for Locust Fork, only giving up two runs and five hits, but ultimately being credited with the loss.
For the first two-and-a-half innings, the crowd was greeted with a pitching duel between the two, with the first inning only seeing three batters from each team. In the third, the Bulldogs broke through. After Butler put three up, three down, Kynzlee Farr hit a two-out double to give the Bulldogs an offensive jolt. Next up, Bentley Childers bunted and reached safely, and with runners on the corners, Butler gave herself run support with a knock to left field that cleared the bases and gave Hanceville a 2-0 lead.
The Hornets didn’t go down easy, however. In the top of the fourth, Butler gave up a single to Calloway, then two walks to load the bases with two outs. In the most intense at bat of the night, with a 1-1 count, Locust Fork’s Shanna Johnson hit a laser straight to Hanceville third baseman Kerrigan Pipkin, who secured the most important catch of the night to get Butler and the Bulldogs out of the jam.
While the offense didn’t generate much pressure after their two runs earlier, Butler was ice cold down the stretch, eventually striking out two in the final frame to end the game with the 2-0 win.
At the plate, Hanceville was led by Butler, who went 1-3 with the two-RBI double. Recording two hits in three at bats was Kynzlee Farr, whose third-inning double put her in scoring position to eventuality be sent home by Butler.
With the win, the Bulldogs move on to the area championship, and await a challenger that will be determined on Monday.
FROM AROUND CULLMAN
- With 11-0 and 22-2 wins over Addison, Meek clinched the Class 1A, Area 14 softball title on Friday. In game one, Sadi Farley pitched five shutout innings, striking out eight and hitting a three-RBI home run in the win. In the finale, shortstop Anna Daugherty went 3-3 at the plate with a double and a home run, bringing in a whopping seven runs.
