The North Greene softball team brought home its fourth straight Region 1-1A championship on Wednesday afternoon, taking down Cloudland 7-3 in Baileyton.
“I thought we played well tonight. We played good defense and Hannah (Brooks) threw the ball well,” North Greene coach Avery Weems said. “She threw us easy outs and the girls made plays behind her. Offensively we were methodical, and we just kept adding runs.”
The Lady Huskies move on to the Class 1A State Sectionals on Friday where they will Wartburg at home with a trip to the Class 1A State Tournament on the line. The Lady Huskies will be trying to advance to the state tournament for the fourth time in six years.
“You want to be in the sub-state game, but hosting it is the main goal,” Weems said. “It’s great to see the girls achieve that. I think they are excited for it, I’m excited for it. We just have to come back and play our best. There are not any bad teams left.”
On offense the Lady Huskies never put together the big inning, but they methodically added to their lead all night before putting the game out reach by the time Lady Highlanders’ offense found life.
North Greene got started in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs Tralyn Southerland lofted a fly ball toward the tall wall in left field and it just kept carrying before landing in the trees for a solo home run.
“In the past she has thrown it all over the place to me, so when I saw one right down the pipe I knew I had to hit it. It just went. It felt really good to see it go out,” Southerland said.
Southerland had a big day at the plate for North Greene, going 3-for-3 with a home run, double and three RBIs.
“Tralyn had a good night at the plate,” Weems said. “She had a good approach each at bat. That first at bat she got ahead in the count, they grooved her one and she crushed it. That’s what we want. When you are ahead in the count, be aggressive.”
North Greene made it 2-0 in the second inning. Again, things started with two outs when Addi Dean got a pop fly to land between a quartet of defenders behind second base.
Dean scored from second when Heidi Trentham smacked a groundball through the right side.
One more run crossed the dish for the Lady Huskies in the third frame. Josie Graham got things started by reaching on an error and Southerland fired a double up the middle to drive her home.
Through the first three innings North Greene pitcher Hannah Brooks faced the minimum, but in the fourth Cloudland showed its first signs of life. Eowyn McCoury walked and Willow Bennett used a single to put runners on the corners.
North Greene ended the threat when catcher Charlie Turnmire gunned down Bennett trying to steal second before Graham fielded a groundball for the third out.
The Lady Huskies moved ahead 5-0 in the fifth inning started by Kinlea Eastep and Graham reaching on consecutive bunt singles. Southerland then got a soft line drive to land in left field to score Eastep. Graham scored from third when Brooks put down a sacrifice bunt.
North Greene scored two more runs with two outs in the sixth inning. Eva Leonard sent a pinch-hit single into center field. After a steal Eastep sent a RBI-single to left-center. Graham then rocketed a line drive to the deepest part of center field for a run-scoring double.
In the top of the seventh a pop-up rain shower made its way through Baileyton and Cloudland took advantage of the wet ball. Peyton Presswood sent a double up the middle that knocked in Cloudland’s first two runs. Regan Blair pushed across the final run with a single up the middle before Graham made an out at second to end the threat.
Brooks earned the win from the circle. She struck out seven, walked two, and allowed five hits. Three of those hits came in the rain-soaked seventh inning.
In addition to Southerland’s 3-for-3 night North Greene produced 11 hits on Wednesday. Graham was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Dean was 2-for-3 with a double. Eastep went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.
