Huntland's Hadley Gardner swings at an incoming pitch during a game Tuesday against Eagleville High School. Gardner had a home run, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored in the 9-7 loss.
Huntland's Hadley Gardner swings at an incoming pitch during a game Tuesday against Eagleville High School. Gardner had a home run, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored in the 9-7 loss.
The Huntland High School Lady Hornets lost to the Eagleville Lady Eagles 9-7 at home Tuesday in a semifinal game for the District 9A tournament.
The second-seeded Lady Hornets kept pace with the top-ranked Lady Eagles throughout the day, but heavy rain in the top of the sixth led to the game being called early with Huntland taking a close loss.
Huntland head softball coach Michael Tipps said he knew it would be a high-scoring game going in, and Eagleville did just enough to ultimately beat his team.
“I told the girls before the game that both teams are going to hit it, and whoever made the most plays in the field was going to be the winner,” he said. “We outhit them 12-7. We just didn’t make enough plays in the field.”
The Lady Hornets were the first team on the board as Hadley Gardner hit a two-run home run to left field in the top of the first.
The Lady Eagles responded immediately in the bottom half of the first as they scored three runs in the frame to take an early 3-2 lead.
The Lady Hornets took the lead again in the top of the third as Jocy May raced home on a wild pitch, and Camerin Davis hit an RBI double to score Blair Finchum from second base and make it a 4-3 game.
The Lady Eagles capitalized off of a Huntland error to score a game-tying run in the bottom of the third, but pitcher Bella Smith was then able to induce an inning-ending groundout to strand the potential go-ahead run at third base.
The Lady Hornets pulled right back ahead in the top of the fourth as Smith hit into an RBI groundout, Finchum recorded a sacrifice fly and Gardner scored on a wild pitch to give Huntland a 7-4 lead at the game’s scheduled midway point.
However, the Lady Eagles answered back once more with a four-run frame in the bottom of the fourth, flipping the scoreboard once more and giving Eagleville an 8-7 advantage.
A solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth added another run to Eagleville’s tally as the Lady Hornets trailed 9-7 late in the contest.
Gardner hit her second home run of the day in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit in half, and Finchum singled and moved to second on a wild pitch later in the frame, but a flash of lightning led to an immediate delay as thunderstorms rolled into the area.
The game could not be resumed after the rain had passed due to field conditions, and the contest had to be rolled back to its last completed inning, nullifying Gardner’s second home run and leaving the Lady Hornets with a two-run loss.
Smith pitched a complete game for the Lady Hornets with seven hits, six walks, eight earned runs and one unearned run allowed for the day.
With the loss, the Lady Hornets moved to 10-7 on the season.
They will next play Wednesday at home against Moore County High School or Fayetteville City High School in an elimination semifinal game for the District 9A tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
