LANDRUM, SC - When the rain quit pouring down on Monday night, the Boiling Springs softball team started pouring runs onto the scoreboard as they defeated Landrum 17-6 to officially start the 2022 regular season.
"That's a great way to start the season," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "I'm really proud of how we're hitting and how we're play defense right now. The season is going to get tough and we're going to have to play like that all year if we want to be in the hunt for the playoffs at the end of the season." Boiling Springs got their bats going on the first at-bat when Adrienne Raines reached base on an infield bunt single before moving to second base when Sayde Parris worked a walk. Raines gave the Bulldogs their first run of the game when she scored on a Kate Philbeck double to left centerfield to put Boiling Springs up 1-0 over the Cardinals. With Emma Wilkins, pinch running for Sayde Parris, at third base and Philbeck at second base the Bulldogs made their lead 3-0 when Gracen Bennett hit a single to left centerfield. Bennett later scored from third on a double to left field by Sarah Ezell to make the Boiling Springs lead 4-0 after the first inning. Boiling Springs added to their lead in the top of the second inning with two outs which started when Stanley was hit by a pitch before Bri McAbee, who was running for Stanley, advanced to second on a passed ball and then to third on a single to left field by Parris. McAbee and Wilkins, who was running for Parris, pushed the Bulldogs lead to 6-0 on a double to left centerfield by Leaha Rushing. The Bulldogs lead advanced to 7-0 at the end of the second inning after Rushing scored on a double to left field by Philbeck, her second RBI in two innings. Sarah Ezell reached base in the top of the third inning by working a one out walk before advancing to third on a bunt single by Morgan Hammett putting runners at the corners. Ezell came around to score on the next at-bat when she scored on a sacrifice bunt by Raines to push the Bulldogs lead to 8-1 after three innings at the plate. In the bottom of the third inning, Landrum had their biggest inning of the night as they were able to score five runs to get within two runs of the Bulldogs at 8-6 when the third inning came to an end. Leaha Rushing reached base in the top of the fourth inning on a fielder's choice before advancing to second on a wild pitch. She advanced to third base on a single to right field by Philbeck that also saw Philbeck advance to second base on the throw from the outfield. Rushing made the Bulldogs lead 9-6 over the Cardinals when she scored on a wild pitch before Philbeck pushed the lead to 10-6 on a sacrifice bunt by senior second baseman Jacie Ross. Morgan Hammett started off the top of the fifth inning by reaching base on her second straight infield bunt single before stealing second base and her speed is something that has become a weapon for the team according to Coach Piazza. "Morgan has so much speed but is also such a smart baserunner which are things you can't coach," said Piazza. "She sees what's happening and most of the time, at least so far, makes the right decision." Hammett advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Bri McAbee before coming around to score on a two-run home run by Bri Stanley that was still flying well past the 202' foot sign in centerfield to push the Boiling Springs lead to 12-6 over the Cardinals. Kate Philbeck got her fourth hit in her fourth at-bat of the day to lead off the sixth inning when she hit a single to right centerfield. Philbeck stole second base before advancing to third base on a groundout to third base by Ross registering the Bulldogs second out of the inning. Ezell followed Ross and was hit by a pitch before stealing second base to put runners at second and third base with two outs. With runners in scoring position and two outs, Bulldogs senior Grace Geddes came up with a big hit as she lined a single to right centerfield scoring both Philbeck and Ezell to push the Boiling Springs lead to 14-6 over the Cardinals. Bri McAbee followed Geddes and was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Bri Stanley. Stanley took advantage of her opportunity as she crushed a three-run home run that cleared the left field wall and almost cleared the Landrum batting cages behind the left field wall. Between her two at-bats in the fifth and sixth innings, Stanley hit over four-hundred feet of home runs in two innings. "Bri is an amazing kid and we've just been waiting on her to have a game at the plate like she did tonight," said Piazza. "I think she's finally got back into the swing of things and I think she showed that tonight. She also had a great night on the mound." Stanley finished the game going two for four with two homers and five RBIs while pitching seven innings allowing one run and striking out nine batters. Kate Philbeck with her four for four night on Monday has now gotten hits in her last eight at-bats. Boiling Springs will return to the field next Monday in a home matchup against Chesnee before starting region play with a home matchup against Nation Ford on Tuesday and a home region matchup against Clover on Friday. Comments are closed.
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