Lady Tigers finish runner-up in Morgan County Tournament
The Hartselle Lady Tigers battled through the cold, the wind and five quality opponents in finishing runner-up at the Morgan County Tournament this past weekend.
Austin 5, Hartselle 4
Hartselle fell in the championship game 5-4 to Austin, a matchup between the No. 4-ranked team in 7A and the No. 2-ranked team in 6A. Both teams entered the game with 30 or more wins.
Karsi Lentz got Hartselle on the board in the top of the first with her 16th home run of the season. Austin answered with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-2 lead after a Kyra Taylor two-run homer.
Lexey Carver added to the Austin lead with a home run in the bottom of the second.
Kaelyn Jones and Lentz scored runs in the top of the third to tie the game at 4-4.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when Kadence Swoopes scored the winning run from third on a throwing error.
Larissa Preuitt had two hits, two stolen bases and a run scored to lead the Lady Tigers. Jones finished with a hit, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Lentz had two RBIs and walked three times.
Blayne Godfrey took the loss after allowing five runs in 6.1 innings of work. She gave up five hits, including two home runs in the loss.
Hartselle 4, West Morgan 0
Hartselle scored one in the bottom of the first and added three in the sixth to defeat West Morgan 4-0 in the loser’s bracket finals.
Preuitt, Lentz, Savannah Barber and Riley Kate Wolf scored runs for the Lady Tigers. Emily Hall and Brantley Drake each had a hit and an RBI, while Hall finished with two RBIs.
Godfrey picked up the win after going 5.1 innings. Sarah Bowling picked up the save with 1.2 scoreless innings of work, striking out five.
Austin 6, Hartselle 2
The Lady Tigers fell behind 5-0 in the bottom of the second in their 6-2 loss to the Lady Black Bears.
Kaelyn Jones led the Lady Tigers with two hits and two steals.
Godfrey took the loss, allowing six runs in four innings while striking out five.
Hartselle 15, Priceville 0
The Lady Tigers scored nine runs in the bottom of the first for the second consecutive game, defeating Priceville 15-0 to advance to the winner’s bracket final.
Brantley Drake had three hits and two runs scored to lead the Lady Tigers. Preuitt, Lentz and Godfrey each had two hits. Lentz had three RBIs, while Godfrey had two. Sarah Bowling had a hit and two RBIs.
Godfrey got the start and picked up the win in 1.1 innings of work. Bowling pitched 1.2 innings in relief, combining with Godfrey to shut out the Lady Bulldogs.
Hartselle 13, West Morgan 4
The Tiger girls opened bracket play with nine runs in the bottom of the first on their way to a 13-4 win over West Morgan.
Gillott finished with two hits, a triple and a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in leading the Lady Tigers to victory. Preuitt and Jones also had two hits.
Preuitt scored two runs, had two RBIs and two steals. Drake had two steals and two runs scored, while Brooklyn Stiles had a hit and two runs scored.
Godfrey got the start and picked up the win as she struck out four in two scoreless innings. Crawford gave up four runs in one inning of work, while Sarah Bowling pitched a scoreless fourth.
Hartselle 3, Falkville 2
The Lady Tigers’ Emily Hall scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth when a Falkville infielder misplayed a Brantley Drake hit.
Hall finished with two runs scored, while Drake and Katie Gillott each had an RBI. Mary Elizabeth Booth had two hits.
Zoey Crawford picked up the win, striking out six while allowing two runs in six innings.
Hartselle 4, West Morgan 0
Lentz opened the scoring for Hartselle with a three-run homer in the top of the first, and the Lady Tigers then cruised to a 4-0 win over the Lady Rebels.
Preuitt and Godfrey each finished with two hits for Hartselle. Preuitt had three stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI.
Godfrey struck out 10 while allowing two hits in seven innings to pick up the win.
