Lady ‘Canes Closing In On Region
In a double header Tuesday versus Central Macon the Lady ‘Canes improved their region record to a perfect 10-0 with only three games left in the regular season.
The team won 8-0 in a five-inning mercy rule game in the last game of the double header. Pitcher Megan Studdard struck out eight and gave up no hits, and has only given up two hits in 17 innings in the last three games she pitched.
Megan Kildahl, Erika Bilbrey, Paisley Stewart and Dieone Pennamon all had doubles, while Studdard and Sharika Pennamon contributed a single.
In the first game of the double header, Shelby Britt pitched a 13-0 win in a four-inning mercy rule shortened game. She struck out five and only gave up one hit.
Leading the hitting in this game was Bilbrey with two doubles and a single, Alexis Fields with a triple and a single, Kildahl with a double and a single, Studdard and Carlie Evens with two singles each, Britt with a double and Dieone Pennamon with a single.
Head Softball Coach Chris Jenkins said, “I’m proud of the girls who have worked hard to get to this point, and it’s a testament to the six seniors.”
The team traveled to Alpharetta over the week end for the Milton Fall Classic Tournament. Coach Jenkins said, “We lost 2-0 to Bryan County, ranked in the top five in single A.
We also lost by the same score to Milton, a five A school, and lost 7-0 to Sequoia, a four A school. We did win the last game 3-0 against Gilmer, a three A school.
“The good part was we got to see pitching we had not seen all season. It took us about four innings to adjust in the first game. The first three pitchers we saw will all probably pitch at a division one school somewhere. They were as good as you will see.
“We finally got our timing down and began to hit the ball, but they all made good defensive plays on us. We learned we need to find different ways to get on base instead of other teams making errors or us getting 10 or 12 hits. We have to learn to manufacture, but that was the whole point of playing in the tournament.”
Last Thursday the team defeated Putnam 9-0 with Studdard on the mound who only gave up one hit. Tripp went three-for-three, and Fields went two-for-two with two walks. Putnam is in second place in the region with only two losses, both to the Lady ‘Canes.
The team is scheduled to play Henry County at home today, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m. It will be Senior Night.
The last two games of the regular season are scheduled for a double header versus Northeast Macon next Wednesday, Oct. 7, at home at 4:30 p.m.