Piedmont, Wellborn start fast
- Updated: April 28, 2015
[corner-ad id=2][corner-ad id=2]Class 3A, Area 12 is the only softball area with four Calhoun County teams and the play on the fields reflects that intense rivalry. Weaver, Wellborn, Pleasant Valley and Piedmont are all meeting this week at Wellborn to decide the two teams that will advance to the next round of the AHSAA state playoffs in a double elimination tournament.
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
Kendall Pressley shut down Pleasant Valley (18-15) over the final three innings without a hit and Madison Pike’s base running helped Piedmont rally from two runs down to defeat the Raiders 4-3.
Pike led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and advanced to third on an infield ground out. She then slid in under the tag on a grounder to first for what proved to be the winning run. She also scored the tying run in the fourth.
It all made a winning pitcher of Pressley, who allowed no hits or runs over the final three innings. She struck out one and hit three batters.
The Bulldogs now face top-seeded host Wellborn Tuesday at 5 p.m. Pleasant Valley will meet Weaver at 3 in an elimination game. The Piedmont-Wellborn loser will face the PV-Weaver winner at 7. The finals are set for Thursday night.
It was just another tight game for the Bulldogs (20-20) who have played an incredible 15 one run games with a 6-9 record.
Pleasant Valley (18-15) got on the board with a two-out first-inning single by McKinley Parris, who drove in Atleigh Brannon and Savannah Williams.
The Bulldogs got one run back in the bottom of the third on a two-out double by Rachel Baggett to score Peggy Ridley.
A two-out error allowed Parris to score after she drilled a double and advanced to third on a ground out. The run put the Raiders up 3-1.
Piedmont tied the game with two in the bottom of the fourth. Pressley led off with a single. Pike reached on an error that scored one run and then Pike raced home on an infield ground out.
Rachel Baggett had two hits to lead the Bulldogs at the plate. Parris led Pleasant Valley with two hits and three RBIs.
Wellborn 5 Weaver 1
The Panthers (19-7) scored five runs early and made them stand, holding off a stubborn Weaver team that has lost nine games by fewer than three runs.
The young Bearcats (2-19) loaded the bases in the last three innings, but could only come up with a lone run in the top of the seventh on a single by Cameron Spears.
“I was worried that they might get a hit in the gap,” Wellborn coach Brenda Vinson said. “You cannot ever count on a game being in the bag until it is over.”
Wellborn’s Kamryn Beasley had a two-run double in the first inning. Mikayla Ludwig contributed an RBI single while Taylor Houck went 3-for-4 and Sam Coley 2-for-3.
Ludwig started on the mound and pitched to two outs in the fourth inning before being relieved by Lauren Carroll. Ludwig walked four and fanned three, while Carroll struck out four and walked three and pitched out of two bases loaded jams.
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