Lady Cougars Defeat Flint River

Piedmont Academy’s varsity softball team got back on the winning track Tuesday with an 8-3 road win against Flint River in Woodbury.

Maddie Morton earned the win and Neely Bradford worked the last inning in relief.

“Our pitchers did a good job challenging Flint River’s batters and eliminating free bases,” coach Daniel Funt said. “Our defense played well making solid plays and eliminating extra bases.

Offensively, we were able to execute bunts and have a good approach early to get some big base hits. In the middle and later parts of the game, the long ball took over.”

Winning on the road at Flint River was something the coach was proud of his team for.

“We battled in a tough atmosphere and improved in the last couple of innings, especially on defense.” Funt said.

Prior to Tuesday, the Lady Cougars were upset by Brentwood 7-5 Monday in a home contest.

“We struggled defensively and offensively,” Funt said. “We just made too many mistakes to win the game.”

Brentwood trailed 5-4 after the fifth inning but pushed three runs across in the top of the sixth to take a 7-5 advantage.

The loss overshadowed some strong efforts at the plate by Hailey Hooper (1-for-3, one RBI), Bradford (1-for-3, one homer, two RBI) and Madison Johnson (1-for-3.) Haley Tyler, Kylie Garner, Matti Smith and Cassidy Cook all scored runs while Bradford cross home twice.

On Saturday, the varsity Lady Cougars defeated Heritage 15-8 on the road. Bradford earned the win working all seven innings and striking out seven batters. She scattered six hits.

At the plate, Smith was 2-for-3 with two walks and Haley Tyler was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Hooper also had a big day offensively finishing 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Madison Burnham was 2-for-3 with three RBI, a run and two walks.

Cook added a 2-for-4 performance with a run while Bradford was 1-for-3 with a run and RBI with two walks. Taylor Swart was 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run while Ashley Johnston was 1-for-4 with an RBI and Amelia Dodson was 1-for-5 while driving in a run.

“The offense did a great job scoring runs,” said Funt. “We had a great approach at the plate and used the whole field. We just have to keep improving and work on consistency.”