The Chesnee Eagles used an explosive first inning to down the Clover Blue Eagles 14-2 in five innings in the opening game of the Byrnes Preseason Tournament on Friday night.
"I'm proud of how these girls came back in the first inning," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "They didn't panic. Even though we made some mistakes they didn't let the mistakes define us. I'm real proud of the toughness they displayed." Clover opened the scoring in the top of the first as they got three consecutive two out hits that started when Abbie Welborn hit a double that was followed with a RBI double from Cheyenne Scott while Emily Vodeki capped things off with a RBI single to give the Blue Eagles a 2-0 lead. The Eagle bats answered with authority in the bottom of the first inning as Mattie Martin got things started when she turned an 0-2 count into a walk and Ali Scruggs followed with a single that saw both runners advance an extra base due to an error. Sam Carver lined a double for the first of her two big hits in the inning to drive in both runs to tie the game at 2-2 before Maddie Handy picked up an RBI single to give the Eagles the lead. Chesnee tacked on three more runs due to errors and crafty base running by Paige Scruggs, Maddie Handy, and Shenandoah Bishop including a great play by Bishop that saw her steal home on a double steal. The big blows in the inning came after the Eagles had batted around when Sam Carver laced her second two RBI hit of the inning and Paige Scruggs followed with a massive three run home run over the left-centerfield fence to push the lead to 11-2. Clover did have a highlight in the inning defensively as catcher Cheyenne Scott made a beautiful diving catch that ended the inning. "She (the pitcher) was down 3-0 and I knew a good pitch was coming," said Scruggs about her home. "I just kept my hands back and tried to score some runs." Handy delivered a shutdown inning for the Eagles from the circle in the top of the second inning as Adah Bruning's two out double was the lone blemish in the inning. Chesnee got another leadoff walk to start the bottom of the second inning as Shenandoah Bishop worked a walk before Emily Pretty followed two batters later with a double and she was followed by Kyleigh Thompson who singled to drive in Bishop. Mattie Martin followed with a two-RBI double as she reached for the third consecutive time to push the Eagles lead to 14-2. The Eagles limited Clover to five base runners over the final three innings including a game ending 6-3-2 double play that cut down a runner at the plate with a good dig by Sam Carver and turn by Ali Scruggs which ended with Hannah Henderson applying the tag at home. Chesnee got back to back singles from Skylar Barrett and Emma Fogle in the bottom of the fourth inning but that was the lone scoring chance over the final two innings for the Eagles. The Eagles will be back in action on Monday as they travel to take on Union County at 5:30pm in the second game of pool play for the Byrnes Preseason Tournament. Comments are closed.
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