After a couple of slow games at the plate the Boiling Springs softball team finally got their bats going as they defeated Gaffney 7-1 to pick up another region victory on Tuesday night as they continue their pursuit for a spot in the 5A playoffs.
"We worked on a lot of things in practice and changed some things," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "It seemed to work as we made contact and ran bases better tonight than we have been the last few games. We've been in a slump the last few games and sometimes it's hard to get out of that until something good happens and tonight something good happened." Boiling Springs got the game started when AD Raines reached base on a single that fell in between two Gaffney defenders before moving to second on a passed ball and moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Olivia Hall. Raines made the game 1-0 in favor of the Bulldogs when she dove headfirst into home plate after a Gaffney wild pitch. Gaffney tied the game in the bottom of the inning but a great throw from catcher Ragan Bristol to second baseman Jacie Ross ended the inning as an Indians runner tried to reach second base on the run tying single. After the first inning the Indians only had one hitter reach base the rest of the game as Bulldogs pitcher Olivia Hall shut down the Gaffney batters striking out twelve batters over seven innings of work. "Olivia did tonight exactly what we needed her to do," said Piazza. "She kept the ball down and when she pitches like that you're going to be in the game. I'm glad she was able to get a game like that under her belt before we go into our game against Nation Ford on Friday night." In the top of the fourth inning the Bulldogs were able to regain the lead and it started with Kate Philbeck reaching base on a fielder's choice. She then advanced to third base on an infield single by Jacie Ross before giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead on a Gaffney wild pitch. Boiling Springs got back to work in the top of the fifth inning when Hall reached base on an infield single before Sammy Quintero, who was pinch running for Hall, came around to score from first base on a Ragan Bristol single to right centerfield to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead while Bristol advanced to second on the throw. Bri McAbee, who was pinch running for Bristol, stole third base and came around to score on a single to left centerfield by Jaycie Osment. Saydee Parris followed Osment with a single down the third base line to give the Bulldogs runners at first and second base. Philbeck added to the Boiling Springs lead when she hit a triple to right field scoring both Osment and Parris to give the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead. With two outs in the top of the sixth inning the Bulldogs added another run when Hall worked a walk before Quinterro, who was pinch running for Hall, came around to score on a double by Bristol to left field to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-1 over the Indians. "We're in a spot where we have to win the rest of our region games and tonight is a good way to do it with us getting our confidence back," said Piazza. "For our team to get the confidence to know they can do that, they needed that back. This win is big for us going forward." Bulldogs senior Ragan Bristol echoed her coaches feelings about how this win can carry the team going forward. "It's big for us to get this win tonight because finally tonight we hit as a team," said Bristol. "Our key word is momentum and when one of us starts hitting that momentum just carries itself to the rest of the team. The key to our team is just to hit consecutively." Bristol led the Bulldogs at the plate going three for four with two RBIs while Kate Philbeck also added two RBIs while going two for four at the plate herself. Boiling Springs will return to play on Friday night as they host Nation Ford in another key region matchup. Comments are closed.
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