The Boiling Springs softball team finished out a 3-0 week with a decisive 9-3 victory over Nation Ford on Friday night behind a big two homerun game from first baseman Bri Stanley.
"We've come back in the last two weeks and started hitting the ball well again," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "We went into a slump at a bad time but I'm proud of how our team is finishing out the season. We've had three big wins this week and are hitting the ball now like we were earlier this season." Nation Ford got on the board first as Emma Skovran singled to start the game before coming home to score two batters later on a single to right field by Olivia Southerly giving the Falcons an early 1-0 lead. Boiling Springs didn't allow Nation Ford the lead for long though as with two outs they scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. It started with a single to right field by catcher Ragan Bristol who then came around to score on a deep homerun to centerfield by first baseman Bri Stanley, as the ball not only cleared the outfield wall but found the road behind the stadium to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. Hailey Owens followed Stanley with a double to left field before advancing to third base on a single by Jaycie Osment and then coming around to score on a wild pitch to Saydee Parris that also allowed Osment to advance to second base. Osment gave the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead at the end of the first inning when Parris hit a single to centerfield that hit just short of the outfield wall. Both teams went scoreless in the second inning but in the top of the third inning the Falcons narrowed the lead of the Bulldogs. After getting the first two runners on to start the inning via a single and a walk by Skovran and Sydney Johnson the Falcons made the score 4-2 when Skovran scored on a Bulldogs error that allowed Madsion Arnold to reach base. The Bulldogs were able to get the next two batters out via a strikeout and a groundout to third base before the Falcons loaded the base on a hit by pitch. With the bases loaded the Falcons made the score 4-3 on a single to right field by Harper McKain but as they sent a runner home to tie the game, Bulldogs right fielder Hailey Owens made a great throw to catcher Ragan Bristol at home to get the final out of the inning and preserve the Bulldogs 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Boiling Springs bats got back to work with two outs when centerfielder AD Raines singled to centerfield before advancing to second base on a wild pitch and then coming around to score on a single to centerfield by pitcher Olivia Hall to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead after four innings of play. Stanley added to the Bulldogs lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as she started the inning with her second homerun of the game to centerfield to push the Boiling Springs lead to 6-3 over the Falcons. The two homeruns on Friday night are Stanley's first two homeruns of the season at Bulldogs Park and she said her mindset for both homeruns had been to just get base hits when she went to the plate. "We were down 1-0 there in the first inning and I was just trying to get a base hit but sometimes you just connect with the ball," said Stanley. "It was great getting these two homeruns at home but I wasn't sure if I had gotten a homerun on that second one because I thought the centerfielder had a track on it but luckily it got out of here." Stanley was followed to the plate by Owens who hit a single to left field before she came around to score on a two run homer by Jaycie Osment over the left field wall pushing the Bulldogs lead to 8-3 over Nation Ford. The homers by Stanley and Osment came as no surprise to Piazza as he said the team knew going into the season they had kids that could hit the ball well. "It was exciting going into this season knowing we had some kids that could really hit the ball," said Piazza. "When they came through tonight you were happy for them and happy for the way we've hit the ball this past week. It's exciting for them to finish the season well as they've overcome some adversity and while we won't be in the playoffs it's been great to see how they've played this past week." Olivia Hall added to the Bulldogs lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when she hit a homerun to left centerfield giving the Bulldogs a 9-3 lead. Hall also had a strong night from the pitching circle as she picked up her third win of the week while striking out eight Nation Ford batters. "Olivia has done a great job here for us," said Piazza. "I went out to pull her from the game at one point and she told me to let her finish the inning and she did just that. It's great having a kid like that on your team." Bri Stanley led the Boiling Springs bats going two for three from the plate with three RBIs while Jaycie Osment also had a strong night going two for three with two RBIs. Boiling Springs will return to action on Monday night when they travel to Byrnes who they defeated 14-0 at home earlier this season. Comments are closed.
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