Lady Indians start region play with victory over Tigers 15-3

The Lumpkin County Lady Indians softball team started off their region play strong on Monday night with a 15-3 victory over the Dawson County Tigers. The game was delayed at first because of stormy weather, but after the skies cleared both teams came out ready to play.

The Lady Indians started out slow, leaving three stranded their first at-bat. Starting pitcher Natalie Robinson and the rest of the Lady Indians defense were able to hold the Tigers until the bottom of the second. A sacrifice bunt by Tigers left fielder Brea Crane brought in the first run of the game, followed by a ball put into play by Tigers catcher Annsley Kirby to bring home another runner.

The Tigers left the inning with a 2-0 lead, but it didn’t take long for the Lady Indians to warm up. The Lady Indians put ten runs on the board during the top of the third.

Third baseman Lauren English led things off with a single to right field, followed immediately after with a double to center field by Robinson. Starting catcher Natalie Schubert stepped up and hit a double to right field, earning her two RBIs and the Lady Indians two runs to tie the game 2-2.

Designated pitcher Emmie Graham followed Schubert with a single, and right fielder Hayley Voyles did the same to bring Schubert home and the Lady Indians another run. Back to back singles by first baseman Hannah Pulley and second baseman Alyssa Pulley brought in two more runs, and the Lady Indians had a lead of 5-2.

Back at the top of the lineup, shortstop Evee Dornhecker hit a single to left field for a RBI, and was followed by English with another single and RBI of her own. Graham hit another single to left field; an error on Tigers first baseman Bella Henson gave the Lady Indians time to score two more runs. After another single by Voyles to bring home Graham, the Lady Indians held a lead of 10-2 to finish off the top of the third.

The Tigers were unable to get anything on the board during their next at-bat, and a ball put into play by Robinson gave the Lady Indians time to score another run in the top of the fourth.

The Tigers tried to come back in the bottom of the fourth. Henson launched a double to the center field wall, and a couple of batters later designated pitcher Rylie Erickson hit a double to left field to bring Henson home. Unfortunately the Tigers were unable to get anything else going before the Lady Indians got the final out to end the inning with a score of 11-3.

Reece Moore took over as the pitcher for the Tigers in the top of the fifth. Kloee Graham sent a single down the first base line to get things started for the Lady Indians. Two batters later Voyles sent an incredible out-of-the-park homerun to left field to extend the Lady Indians’ lead 13-3. A single by Grace Jones and a couple of walks for the Lady Indians gave them a couple more runs to leave the inning 15-3.

Emmie Graham came in to finish pitching for the Lady Indians in the bottom of the fifth, and after a quick three outs the Lady Indians won on a run rule 15-3.

Among the great offense for the Lady Indians were a double with two RBIs for Schubert, two singles with a RBI for English plus a double and a single with a RBI for Hannah Pulley. Add in the homerun by Voyles in the fifth and the Lady Indians earned an incredible 18 hits. Robinson got six strikeouts over four innings as the starting pitcher.

The Tigers offense included a double by Henson and another double by Erickson. The Tigers earned three hits over the course of the game. Starting pitcher Olivia Martinez pitched four innings, and Erickson pitched the remaining one.

Coach Joe Jones for the Lady Indians said, “Overall, pretty good outting. [I’m] Proud of them for coming out and getting that first region win.”

The Lady Indians will continue their region play with a game against East Hall tonight at home. The Tigers will host Greater Atlanta Christian at home tonight as well.