CHESNEE, SC - After a long two days of softball for the Boiling Springs softball team, it took a strong pitching performance from pitcher Bri Stanley in the championship game to allow the Bulldogs to defeat Chesnee 1-0 to win the 2022 District Two Preseason Softball Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
"I'm happy with how we played the whole weekend," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "It's preseason and you want to get better as we got down at times but our girls bounced back and it showed me something about who we are as a team. We got a lot of looks at kids this weekend and now we head for the regular season." Chesnee was able to get two runners on in the top of the first inning, as Skylar Barrett and Maddie Handy were able to reach base on singles but the Bulldogs were able to get out of the inning on a groundball to Bulldogs third baseman Kate Philbeck who was able to throw the runner out at first base. With one out in the inning, the Bulldogs got a double to right centerfield from Bri Stanley to get the offense started for the Bulldogs in the inning. Sayde Parris followed Stanley reaching on an Eagles error that allowed Bri McAbee, who was pinch running for Stanley, to come around and score giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning. After the first inning it was a pitching duel between the Bulldogs Bri Stanley and Chesnee's Maddie Handy. Stanley went all seven innings for the Bulldogs as she allowed only four hits while striking out eight Chesnee batters including two strikeouts to end the game and clinch the championship. "We know that performances like today and this weekend are the type of performances we're going to need from Bri all season," said Piazza. "She pitched every game this weekend and just did a great for us all weekend." Chesnee's Maddie Handy after the first inning limited Boiling Springs to only six hits the rest of the game as she turned in a strong pitching performance for the Eagles as well. Chesnee with one runner on in the bottom of the sixth inning was looking to tie the game but a great diving stop followed by a strong throw from the knees by Bulldogs third baseman Kate Philbeck cut the Eagles rally short. The strong defensive plays by Philbeck in the field along with a three for three game at the plate was something Piazza was happy to see from his senior player. "Kate really had a great day today after struggling a little last night," said Piazza. "Having her at third base is big for us because if she doesn't make that play there in the sixth the game may have been tied. She played solid today and it was a big day for her." Boiling Springs made the championship game after solidifying their spot earlier on Saturday in an 8-4 victory over Woodruff. Against the Wolverines, the Bulldogs got the game started by scoring five runs in the first inning as AD Raines started the game with a single before scoring from first base on a double to left field by Bri Stanley. Bri McAbee, who was pinch running for Stanley, scored from second on a single to rightfield by Leaha Rushing to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. A single by Jacie Ross and a walk by Gracen Bennett loaded the bases for the Bulldogs as Rushing came home on a groundout to first by Kate Philbeck to make the Boiling Springs lead 3-0. Sarah Ezell followed Philbeck with an infield single to score Ross before Bennett scored on a passed ball to give the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead over Woodruff. In the bottom of the third inning with two outs Bennett and Philbeck reached base on back-to-back singles before the bases were loaded on a walk to Ezell. Morgan Hammett followed Ezell with a triple to right centerfield that just fell short of a grand slam that scored Bennett, Philbeck, and Ezell to push the Bulldogs lead to 8-4. Boiling Springs had the base loaded in the next inning as well, but the time limit was reached not allowing the Bulldogs to take advantage of the situation. Piazza said that he's really happy with the momentum his team now has going into the regular season that starts on Monday. "You never want to go into the season with a loss so now our kids got some positive energy going into the season," said Piazza. "Our kids fought back all tournament long and it prepares them for what we're going to need to do all season long." Boiling Springs will start their 2022 regular season with a road matchup at Landrum on Monday night with the game set to start at 6:00 PM. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - At the conclusion of the first day of the District Two Preseason Softball Tournament 'Bulldog Bracket', the Boiling Springs softball team saw themselves end the day with 1-0-1 record with the tie coming because of the tournament's time limit. In both games the Bulldogs got some big plays all over the field and were able to overcome some mistakes for a strong beginning to the tournament. Boiling Springs started their tournament with a 3-3 tie against Ninety-Six that ended midway through the fourth inning due to the time limit being reached. The Bulldogs started the game getting a big play from shortstop Leaha Rushing who made a diving catch before doubling off a runner at first base to keep Ninety-Six off the scoreboard to start the game. AD Raines worked a walk to start off the offensive side of the game for the Bulldogs before stealing second base and eventually scoring on a single to left centerfield by Bri Stanley to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs were able to get two more runners on in the inning but weren't able to get the runs home as they held on to the one run lead. In the top of the third inning Ninety-Six was able to bring in three runs to take a 3-1 lead over the Bulldogs heading to the bottom half of the inning. With the time limit quickly approaching, the Bulldogs got to work in the bottom of the third inning with one out as Bri Stanley hit a double to right centerfield. She was followed by Sayde Parris who hit a single down the left field line to advance Emma Wilkins, who was pinch running for Stanley, to third base. On the next at-bat Gracen Bennett grounded out to second base which scored Wilkins to cut the Ninety-Six lead to 3-2 over the Bulldogs while also advancing Bri McAbee, who was pinch running for Parris, to third base. McAbee tied the game at 3-3 when Leaha Rushing hit a double to centerfield. In the second game of the night Boiling Springs was able to defeat Chapman 3-2 as they got a big hit from Sayde Pariis to decide the game. Chapman got on the board first Krislyn Britt Wilder reached base on a bunt single before moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Lexie Krivicich and moving to third base on a passed ball. Wilder made the Panthers lead 1-0 when she came home to score on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Panthers made their lead 2-0 on back-to-back errors by the Bulldogs which allowed Sarah Byrd to come around to score after reaching second base on the first error, stealing third, and then scoring on the second error. In the top of the third inning the Bulldogs AD Raines reached base on a single down the rightfield line before scoring from first base on a single down the right field line by Bri Stanley. Emma Wilkins, who ran for Stanley, came around to tie the game at 2-2 when Leaha Rushing hit a single to left centerfield. Boiling Springs took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning on the first pitch of the inning when Bulldogs catcher Sayde Parris hit a towering home run down the leftfield line for her first homer of the season and what turned out to be the deciding run in the game. Bri Stanley pitched both games for the Bulldogs going seven innings overall striking out eight different batters. Boiling Springs will now return to play on Saturday morning at 9:00 AM against Woodruff and then will find out at which time they play for the final game of the tournament at Chesnee. If the Bulldogs make the championship game, they will play at 2:00 PM but if they don't, they will be playing at 12:00 noon at Chesnee. Other ScoresNinety-Six 11 Chapman 4
Eagles Bracket Chesnee 9 High Point 0 Chesnee 4 Woodruff 2 Woodruff High Point TBA BOILING SPRINGS, SC - After a couple of narrow losses to start the season the Boiling Springs girls' lacrosse team picked up their first win of the season as they defeated Mauldin 13-6 in an out-of-region home matchup.
"We started out a little rough this earlier this season but I think this win will put us back on the upswing," said Bulldogs head coach Michelle Lockwood. "I think our girls were so disappointed with the loss last night that they just came back focused and ready to play tonight." The Bulldogs Mia Lockwood got Boiling Springs off to a strong start as she won the opening faceoff then proceeded to take the ball down the middle of the field firing a shot that found the back of the net to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 just fourteen seconds into the match. Just over a minute after Lockwood scored, Bulldogs midfielder Emma Wood took a right-handed shot that found the net to put Boiling Springs up 2-0 over the Mavericks. Mauldin responded with two back-to-back scores from Olivia Prince and Avery Lewis to tie the match at 2-2 with seventeen minutes left in the first half. After Lewis scored the second goal for the Mavericks, Bulldogs midfielder Lani Hodge allowed Boiling Springs to retake the lead at 3-2 less than a minute later on a left-handed shot. Mia Lockwood pushed that lead to 4-2 just before the ten-minute mark of the first half on a right-handed jump shot that found the left corner of the net. With just twenty-eight seconds left in the half, Mauldin's Gabby Piquant received a pass just in front of the Bulldogs goal and fired a shot to the back of the net that made the Boiling Springs lead 4-3 going into halftime. Boiling Springs came out of halftime on a mission as they scored the first six goals of the second half to push their lead to 10-3 over the Mavericks. During the six-goal run the Bulldogs got three goals from Kirsten Fisher along with one goal each from Emma Wood, Lani Hodge, and Mia Lockwood. Emma Wood added another goal with just over eleven minutes to go in the game to make the score 11-4 in favor of the Bulldogs when she found the back of the net on a right-handed shot from the right side on a penalty shot. Mauldin's Mayrin Rushford scored all three goals for the Mavericks in the second half as they narrowed the Bulldogs lead to 11-6 with just over nine minutes to go in the game. Bulldogs' attacker Brooklyn Easler stopped the Mauldin run when she found the left side of the net with a right-handed shot on a penalty shot from the left side with just over eight minutes to go in the game. Kirsten Fisher added her fourth goal of the game for the final score of the night when she found the lower left side of the net on a penalty shot to put the Bulldogs lead at 13-6 over the Mavericks. Boiling Springs will now turn their focus back to region play as they travel to Nation Ford on Thursday night as they look to even up their region record at 1-1. Coach Lockwood believes that the game Thursday is a chance for her team to show their improvement. "I think against Nation Ford we really have a chance as we were a lot better against Clover just last week in a game that in year's past hadn't normally been a close game," said Lockwood. "If the girls play like they did tonight there's no doubt we can come back from Nation Ford with a win." |
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