Lady Bucs Earn Spilt with Southern Union
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southern Union State Community College
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
Shelton State Community College
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southern Union State Community College
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Shelton State Community College
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | X | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shelton State Community College
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
|
Southern Union State Community College
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shelton State Community College
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
|
Southern Union State Community College
|
0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Wadley/Tuscaloosa- The Shelton State softball earned a split against the 2nd place Southern Union Lady Bison (5-6, 3-7, 6-0, 4-1). The game originally scheduled for Thursday was moved to Monday due to rain.
For the Series
Alana Spann paced the Lady Bucs in the series hitting .462 (6-13) driving in 3 runs and scoring 3 herself. Tyeshia Willams had 3 hits in 7 at-bats and Lauren Coker drove in 4 runs in the series.
The Lady Bucs pitching staff was phenomenal holding the league leading Lady Bison hitters 62 points under their season batting average (.278 in the series). The Lady Bison average 7 runs a game, good enough for 3rd in the ACCC, but were held to just 3.5 over the 4-game stretch. The 1 run scored over the 2 games on Monday was the lowest run total the Bison has had in a double-header all season.
Game 1
The Lady Bucs dropped a heartbreaker in game 1 as Jordan Douglas hit a walk-off home run for the Lady Bison.
Victoria Hagemann went 6 innings, giving up 5 runs on 11 hits with 5 strikeouts. Mackenzie Harper was handed the loss going 2/3's of an inning.
Alana Spann turned a lead off walk into the first run of the game after advancing on a pass ball and scoring on a Layla Bradshaw groundout. The third pitch thrown by Hagemann was sent over the center field fence to even the score. The Lady Bison were not done as they would push across another run on a double and 2 singles to push the lead to 2-1.
The Lady Bucs evened the score in the 5th inning as Lauren Coker drove in Chloe Mitchell with a 2-out double. Jordan Douglas would launch a 3-run home run in the bottom of the inning to give the Lady Bison a 5-2 lead. The Lady Bucs would then record 4 singles in 5 at-bats (Natalie Liner, Chelsey Hogsed, Alana Spann, and Chloe Mitchell) to draw within 1 run before Alana Spann raced home on a passes ball to even the score at 5.
Jordan Douglas, the hero for the Lady Bison, had 2 home runs in the game and drove in 4 of the 6 runs.
Alana Spann and Lauren Coker both had 2 hits for the Lady Bucs while Chloe Mitchell drove in 2.
Game 2
A strong 3rd inning for Southern Union was too much for the Lady Bucs to overcome in game two.
The Lady Bucs used 3 pitchers in the game: Lexi Darnell (2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER), Kaitlyn Powell (1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R), and Mackenzie Harper (1 IP, 2 SO).
Mackenzie Harper with her 2 strikeouts, became the 1st Lady Buc pitcher since Kaitlyn Childress in the 2018-19 season to record 100 strikeouts in a single season.
The Lady Bucs struck first taking a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning after a Willeshia Lang base hit, Natalie Liner triple, Aspen Gerald base hit, and Chelsey Hogsed single.
Southern Union exploded for 6 runs in the 3rd inning on back-to-back home runs, 4 singles, a walk, and an error. Jordan Douglas hit her 3rd home run of the day to extend the Lady Bison lead to 7-3 in the 4th.
Aspen Gerald led the Lady Bucs with 3 hits will Willeshia Lang added 2.
Game 3
A pitcher's duel through 4 and ½ innings led to a dominant Lady Buc victory in game three.
Victoria Hagemann was brilliant in the circle, going the full 7 innings only allowing 4 hits with 3 strikeouts.
Neither team could find any rhythm at the plate until Chloe Mitchell launched a home run over the center field fence to break the 0-0 tie in the 5th inning. Mitchell's blast helped the Lady Bucs find their groove as they added 3 more runs in the inning, aided by 2 Lady Bison errors. Lauren Coker extended the lead with a 2-run blast to give the Lady Bucs a 6-0 lead that would hold through the end of the game.
The 2-3-4 spots, manned by Chloe Mitchell, Layla Bradshaw, and Lauren Coker, accounted for 6 of the 7 Lady Buc hits, 3 of the 6 RBIs, and 5 of the 6 runs scored.
Game 4
The Lady Bucs took game four, earning a split in the series, after a stellar effort from the pitching staff.
The Lady Bucs turned to a trio of arms in the circle in the win. Lexi Darnell (3 IP, 5 H, 1 R), Kaitlyn Powell (1 IP, 1 H), and Mackenzie Harper (3 IP, 6 SO).
The Lady Bucs started the scoring, posting 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning after an Alana Spann base hit, Chloe Mitchell walk, Lauren Coker groundout, and Willeshia Lang single. Southern Union added a run on a pair of doubles in the 3rd.
The Lady Bucs would score their final run of the game in the 4th inning as Alana Spann drove in Jamie Hocutt on an infield single.
Alana Spann had 3 of 6 Lady Buc hits with Tyeshia Willams accounted for 2. Spann also had 2 of the 4 RBI's.
The Lady Bucs are currently tied for 5th in ACCC standings with Northwest Shoals. With just 4 games to play, the Lady Bucs lead 6th place Calhoun by 1 game. With only top 6 teams advancing to the ACCC tournament, the Lady Bucs will need earn at least a split with Calhoun to clinch a berth into the postseason without the help of a tiebreaker. The series with the Lady Warhawks is schedulded for Thursday in Decatur and Saturday at Bowers Park.