CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee softball team got a solid effort all around the field as they defeated Woodruff 9-3 on Wednesday night, as the Eagles bats got started with a big hit to jump start their impressive offensive night.
"I'm proud of them," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "I talked to them before the game about perspective and about how precious life is after learning that St Joseph's had a young lady lose her life last night. I reminded them how precious they are to us and to this community. They played for each other tonight. I'm very proud of them." Chesnee's Maddie Handy struck out the side in the top of the first inning to get the Eagles off to a solid start. "It got me in a groove and got my mind right," said Handy. "It gave me confidence to attack the plate." Kyleigh Thompson kept the momentum going as she hit a leadoff blast that clanged off the batting cages behind the outfield wall to put the Eagles up 1-0. "It felt great off the bat," said Thompson about the home run, her first of the season. "The best part was seeing how excited my teammates were as I reached home plate and it gave us momentum for the rest of the game." Handy said that Thompson's home run brought a focus to the team and brought an energy to the dugout. "Kyleigh's home run got our team focused and pumped up," said Handy. "It was a domino effect after that." Handy continued her solid work in the second inning with a pair of strikeouts. The Wolverines threatened in the top of the third inning as Bri Mock hit a leadoff single and Gabby Campos followed two batters later with a single of her own. Campos later stole second and put runners at second and third with just one out for the Wolverines. Handy ended the threat with a strikeout and a pop out to Jada Sellars. "I told the team after the game, just when I don't think she can get any tougher she proves me wrong," said Fogle about his junior pitcher. "She is just a tough competitor with great stuff. She is leading the team and they feed off of her energy. If there is a better pitcher in 2A I would love to see it." The Eagles took the momentum gained in the top of the third inning and cashed it in during the bottom half of the inning as they got back-to-back lead off singles from Hannah Henderson and Maddie Handy. Three batters later, Emma Fogle laced a two out, two RBI double to the outfield to put the Eagles up 3-0 over the Wolverines. Handy came back out with another shutdown inning in the fourth inning with another pair of strikeouts. Chesnee tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Aubrey Aparis, Kyleigh Thompson, and Hannah Henderson each hit a one out single to load the bases. Aparis later scored on a RBI sacrifice fly by Maddie Handy while Thompson also scored on a throwing error during the play. Emily Pruett was hit by a pitch to start the fifth inning and after she worked her way to third base she later scored on a Harley Grady RBI groundout. Aubrey Aparis reached base for the third time in the bottom of the sixth inning and Kyleigh Thompson followed her with a single of her own. Hannah Henderson hit a RBI double to plate Aparis before Handy brought home Thompson with a RBI sacrifice fly. Henderson later came around to score on an Emily Pruett single to the outfield. The Wolverines tried to claw back into the game in the top of the seventh inning but it wouldn't be enough as with bases loaded the Wolverines got three runs on a double by Woodruff's Kaitlyn Jackson. With the game sitting at 9-3, the Eagles battery made sure they didn't get any closer as Hannah Henderson made an incredible diving catch from her catchers position while Handy struck out the next batter to end the game. Maddie Handy hurled a brilliant game as she struck out 14 Wolverine batters just one day after she threw a combined no hitter with Emily Pruett. "Any time we have Maddie in the circle it gives us so much confidence as a offense as we know she will take care of her part," said Kyleigh Thompson about Handy's pitching performance. Several Eagle hitters had big games as Kyleigh Thompson had three hits including her home run while also scoring three runs. Hannah Henderson had three hits as well including a RBI double while Maddie Handy helped her own cause going two for two with two RBIs. The Eagles will be back in action on Monday when travel to Blacksburg with a special spring break time of 1:00 PM. Comments are closed.
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