| Gleason softball struggles at McKenzie, bounces back to sweep Bradford |
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Posted: Friday, March 20, 2009 12:32 pm
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The Gleason Lady Bulldogs erased the memories of a rough outing at McKenzie on Monday by taking advantage of Bradford errors in a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday in Tater Town.
The Lady Dawgs' trip to nearby McKenzie was brief and one to forget. The host Lady Rebels put the mercy rule into effect early, taking a 17-0 win over Gleason in just three innings.
The Orange and Black didn't get a hit or have a baserunner in the loss.
McKenzie wasted little time in jumping on the Lady Dawgs, plating 17 runs in the bottom of the first. The Lady Rebs used 10 hits and took advantage of four Gleason errors and seven walks to keep the run-scoring merry-go-round turning. Of their 10 hits, nine were singles. The lone extra base hit was a double.
The Lady Dawgs did a good job of putting the loss behind them, returning to the diamond 24 hours later and earning two wins over the visiting Bradford Lady Red Devils. The Lady Dawgs won the first game, 10-4, and then held on for an 11-9 win in the nightcap.
In the first game, Gleason gave up four runs in the top of the first inning. Shaky defense committed four errors to make all the runs unearned.
The Lady Dawgs shook off the problems in the field and picked up their bats. Briana Jones got things started with a leadoff double. Heather Bowles was then hit by a pitch. Taylor Stout added a single, and Malorie James was also hit by a pitch. All four Lady Dawgs eventually scored. Sami Verdell singled in the at-bat, as Gleason knotted the score at 4-all.
GHS starting pitcher Kaitlyn Collins worked out of a jam in the top of the second. A walk and an error put two Devils on base. A groundout back to Collins and two strikeouts stranded the runners in scoring position.
Gleason took the lead in the home half of the second. Jones struck out but reached base when the catcher dropped the third strike. She eventually scored to put GHS on top, 5-4.
The Lady Dawgs added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a two-out rally. Audrea Martin drew a two-out walk followed by Sarah Passeri reaching on an error. Alicyn Martin then singled as did Jones. Audrea Martin, Passeri and Alicyn Martin all scored to stretch the Gleason lead to four runs at 8-4.
The Lady Dawgs added two more runs in the fourth inning. Stout reached on an error and James doubled. Both later scored for a 10-4 advantage.
Bradford didn't quit and plated a run in the top of the fifth inning. The Lady Devils got three hits and stranded two runners in the inning before Gleason got the third out on a fly to Heather Bowles at second base to end the game.
The second game of the doubleheader was a wild one, with Gleason plating all 11 of its runs in the first three innings, while Bradford crept back into contention with big outbursts fueled by Lady Bulldog errors in the third and fourth innings.
In the top of the first inning, the Lady Dawgs were ignited by a one-out double off the bat of Bowles. Audrea Martin singled for the other GHS hit in the half inning. Bradford hurt its own cause by committing three errors. Bowles, Stout and Sami Verdell all scored to put Gleason on top 3-0.
Gleason added to its lead in the top of the second when Jaclyn Montgomery singled and scored for a 4-0 advantage.
Bradford lit its side of the scoreboard in the bottom of the second with two unearned runs to cut the GHS lead in half, 4-2.
The Lady Dawgs plated seven runs in the top of the third with four hits and five Bradford errors. Audrea Martin, Passeri, Montgomery and James all rapped out singles in the at-bat as Gleason stretched its lead to nine runs at 11-2.
Bradford put a scare into Gleason by plating two runs in the third and five runs on just one hit in the fourth before the Lady Dawgs escaped with the 11-9 victory.
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