The North Greene softball team banged the ball all over the park on Wednesday afternoon on the way to earning a 15-2 win over cross-county rival South Greene.
The Lady Huskies only earned six hits in the contest but five of them went for extra bases with two doubles, two triples and a home run.
“I was really pleased with the way we came out and hit it. I feel like this may have the best we have hit it all year,” North Greene coach Avery Weems said. “I was happy to see us not only putting the ball in play, but hitting it hard. I thought we showed more patience at the plate today and found some pitches to hit.”
Josie Graham had the biggest day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, an inside-the-park home runs and five RBIs.
“That was great to see from Josie today,” Weems said. “She’s been on it most of the year, but she had some hard-hit foul balls. We’ve been on her about straightening it out and hitting from gap to gap. Today she straightened it out and hit some really hard balls. Then when she gets on she’s really fast, you saw with the inside-the-park home run.”
South Greene held the lead briefly on Wednesday as it pushed across two runs in the top of the first inning. Whitney Reaves led off the game with a line drive to left field, and she scored when Kortnei Bailey skipped a groundball through the right side. Bailey took third on a passed ball before scoring on a groundout.
After starting the game with back-to-back hits South Greene only earned one more the rest of the day.
The lead did not last long as North Greene came up with three runs in the bottom of the opening frame. Kinlea Eastep led off the side with a walk and scored from third on a failed pickoff attempt. Matti Phillips was the next to reach base, doing so on a passed ball third strike. She stole second and went to third when the throw to catch her was off target. Phillips tied the game when Hannah Brooks hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop.
Graham got her big day started next when she blasted a fly ball into left field that scored Brooks from first base. Graham got to second on the swat for a double, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple.
After sitting down the Lady Rebels in order North Greene blew the game open with six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Eastep started the scoring by lofting a ball into the right-center gap that the wind carried safely to the turf for an RBI triple.
Loren Blevins knocked in the next run while reaching on an infield error. Phillips was up next and launched a fly ball into the left field fence for another RBI triple. She stole home when the Lady Rebels tried to pick her off at third.
Brooks was walked and scored from first when Graham hammered a pitch into the deepest part of center field. Graham showed she had speed to go with her power by racing around the diamond for an inside-the-park home run that pushed the lead to 9-2.
The Lady Huskies found six more runs in the third inning to stretch the lead to 15-2. They loaded the bases on an error, walk and hit batter. The first run scored when Eastep bounced a comebacker off Bailey in the circle. Blevins then put a sacrifice fly into right field to plate another run.
A bases-loaded walk added to the lead before Graham landed a two-run double on the chalk in left field. The final run scored on a passed ball.
The game ended in the fourth inning due to run rule.
Phillips earned the win on rubber in an efficient effort for the Lady Huskies. She struck out two, walked one and allowed three hits in four innings.
Rachel Johnston took the loss for South Greene. In two innings she struck out one, walked two and allowed five hits. South Greene’s defense committed five errors and seven of North Greene’s 15 runs were unearned.
