Lady Cougars Open Season with Six Games
Piedmont Academy’s fast-pitch softball team ushered in the 2014 season with six games last weekend as part of a tournament hosted by Windsor Academy.
In the debut weekend for new head coach Daniel Funt, the Lady Cougars went 2-3-1 and played in the championship game of the Silver Bracket, finishing second.
Piedmont opened the tournament falling to Southland 8-3 before tying Crisp Academy 6-6. The Lady Cougars then returned to action Saturday and defeated Heritage 5-4 before falling to Tiftarea 4-0. A 9-3 win against Crisp Academy followed before the team closed out tournament play with a 15-8 loss to Tiftarea.
“All of the players saw a lot of action,” Funt said. “Except for the first game against Tiftarea, we swung the bats well. The pitchers battled and I was really proud of their effort. But we have to continue to work and eliminate giving up as many walks and working deep into the pitch count. That will help our defense stay on it toes.”
In the opening game against Southland, Amelia Dodson was 2-for-2 at the plate and scored two runs. She also had two stolen bases. Cheyenne Galloway was 1-for-1 with a run scored while O’Neil Sealy was 2-for-2 with a double.
Hayley Tyler singled and had two stolen bases while Remington Marsh was 1-for-2 with a single and stolen base.
In the first game against Crisp Academy, Tyler was 2-for-2 with a sacrifice and run scored while Dodson was 1-for-3 with two runs. Galloway had a double and one run while Seal was 1-for-3 with a run. Marsh finished 1-for-2 while Morgan Tillman was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Ashley Johnston drew a walk.
In the one-run win against Heritage, Piedmont was led by Galloway (2-for-3, triple), Tillman (home run, walk), Dodson (one walk, one stolen base), Tyler (two walks, two runs), Sealy (1-for-2, walk), Marsh (walk), Madison Burnham (two walks, one stolen base, one run) and Matti Smith (one run.)
As its coach noted, Piedmont struggled offensively in the first matchup with Tiftarea. Tillman was 1-for-3 as was Taylor Swart. Dodson drew a walk while Johnston had a walk and stolen base.
The team had a better go of it against Crisp Academy scoring nine runs. Galloway was 3-for-3 with three runs and two doubles while Sealy was 3-for-3 with three runs. Tyler was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice while Swart was 1-for-3 with a run. Smith went 1-for-3 at the plate while Dodson scored a run and had a stolen base. Johnston also drew a walk.
In the final game against Tiftarea, Sealy had a big day offensively going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and a double. Swart finished 2-for-4 with a run while Smith was 3-for-4.
In addition, Dodson was 1-for-3 with three runs and Tillman was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Marsh also went 1-for-1 while Tyler and Burnham were both 1-for-4.
“We also have to shore up some things defensively,” Funt said. “A few errors extended some innings and allowed some runs to score that shouldn’t have. Offensively, we can get better. Our girls have a lot of talent and in these early games it is about finding out what they can. I was really proud that the girls played hard and improved as the day went on. From a conditioning standing, that is a great sign.”
Piedmont will host a tournament beginning Friday when the Lady Cougars play the Heritage School at 10 a.m. The team will play later that evening against Trinity Sharpsburg in a game played at the Jasper County Recreation Department.
“We want to peak during the region and state playoffs and keep getting better and better,” Funt said. “The girls are buying into what we are doing and if they continue to do that we will get to where we want to go.”