It took Boiling Springs half an inning to dust off a little bit of the rust of the offseason but from the bottom of the first inning on it was all Bulldogs as they grabbed a 7-2 region win over the Gaffney Indians to start the 2020 season.
"We were really pumped up to start the game and it took us a little bit to settle in to the game," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "We struggled to get the leadoff to start the game but then we were able to get the leadoff on our side and just got it going from there." The Indians got two runs in the top half of the first inning as the first two batters were able to cross the plate but that was the end of the scoring for Gaffney as Boiling Springs pitcher didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning. Boiling Springs cut the Gaffney lead in half in the bottom of the first as left fielder AD Raines singled to left to start the game and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by catcher Ragan Bristol to put the Indians lead at 2-1 after one inning. The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom half of the second inning when senior Abbie Threatt reached base on a walk and then after being moved over to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Olivia Hall came around to score on an errant throw that found its way to left field tying the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the fourth inning is when the Bulldogs opened up the game as they scored three runs to grab the lead for the first time in the game. The inning got started when third baseman Kate Philbeck singled to right field before stealing second and third base before scoring on a single by shortstop Jacie Osment to put the Bulldogs up 3-2. Osment advanced to third base on consecutive wild pitches before second baseman Alexis McFalls walked and reached second base on a heads up steal. McFalls was followed by Raines who hit a line drive double down the third baseline scoring both Osment and McFalls to give the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead. Philbeck and Raines are stepping into roles that were held by seniors last season and proved early they are up for the challenge. "You want your leadoff getting on base and AD came in and really stepped up in the leadoff position tonight," said Piazza. "AD also got a big hit for us there in the fourth as well. Kate Philbeck is a player that we know we can get success from and if she keeps playing like she did tonight we'll have some success this season." Brianna Stanley came up big in the fifth and sixth innings for the Bulldogs as she doubled to start the fifth inning before coming around to score on a single by Philbeck and then in the sixth doubled home Kati Roberts who was pinch running for Bristol who had singled to centerfield in the previous at-bat to give Boiling Springs a 7-2 lead. The Bulldogs got a great night from the circle by junior pitcher Olivia Hall who didn't allow a run after the first inning and struck out eleven of the Indians batters. From the second inning to the fifth inning all the outs were either a strikeout by Hall or an out recorded by second baseman McFalls, who made a nice double play when she tagged the Gaffney baserunner and then threw to first base in the fourth inning. Hall also finished the game out strong by striking out all three batters that came to the plate in the final inning. "With the way the weather has been this offseason Olivia didn't get a lot of chances to throw to live hitters here early," said Piazza. "She really settled down there in the second inning and got into a groove. She was on her game tonight and really helped us out there." The victory not only gives the Bulldogs a win to start the season but also a key region win to start the season. "It's a good region win," said Piazza. "I tell the girls that these region wins are big and every one of them is important. You can't take a night off in this region and that was a great performance tonight picking up not only our first win but also our first region win." Boiling Springs will return to the field on Wednesday night for another region matchup as they host the Spartanburg Vikings. Comments are closed.
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