H.S. SOFTBALL: Dresden stays in tie atop 13-A with win

DRESDEN – The District 13-A softball tournament begins Thursday, so teams are working hard to get in rain-out dates from earlier in the season and get the best seed possible.

For Dresden, a No. 1 seed in the tournament is within the team’s grasp. The Lady Lions needed wins in their final two district games to tie Huntingdon atop the 13-A standings.

Dresden got the first win Friday night when the Lady Lions came from behind to beat McKenzie 5-3 at Wilson Park in Dresden.

Dresden (17-9-1, 12-1) will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a win over Clarksburg in its final district game, having the advantage over Huntingdon via tiebreaker. McKenzie falls to 10-10-1.

“We only lost two players from last year, but they were a big two,” Dresden co-coach Chelsea Jones said. “The girls knew that everybody was not counting on them to be the best team, and they wanted to prove everyone wrong.

“We have three seniors — Sam Seat, Carrie Hatchel and Alie Randolph — that are the leaders of this team.”

It was McKenzie though that came out and took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth.

Emily Lunn drove home the first run in the fourth inning on a fielder’s choice, and the other two runs came in the top of the fifth inning as Anna Comer scored on an error and Carla Craddock had an RBI double.

Craddock went 3-for-3 to lead the Lady Rebels’ offense.

In the first three innings, Dresden had a total of three baserunners, but that all changed in the fifth inning when the Lady Lions scored all five runs.

“I think both teams were struggling on offense,” Dresden co-coach Scott Killebrew said. “We had a mental breakdown on defense, but Sam [Seat] kept us in the game. We regained our focus in the fifth inning.”

With the bases loaded, Carrie Hatchel brought home two runs with a single over the pitcher’s head.

Grace Finch followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game 3-3, but the tie was short-lived as Kayla Hayes smacked a two-run home run over the left-field fence for the 5-3 advantage. Hayes went 3-for-3 to lead Dresden.

Seat was the key early when the Lady Lions struggled to score runs, allowing one earned run on six hits, striking out three and walking none.

“This team has been focused and worked hard this year, and that leads to success,” Killebrew said.

McKenzie freshman pitcher Audrie Washburn also kept her team in the game, allowing five runs on eight hits, while striking out seven. Five runs and four hits came in that fifth inning.

While his team will enter the 13-A tournament as one of the top two seeds, Killebrew thinks there are four teams that could win the tournament.

“We have the potential to win, but Huntingdon, McKenzie and West Carroll are good teams also,” he said. “This team set goals, and one of those was to be the No. 1 seed. With a win against Clarksburg, we can do that.”

Michael Odom, 425-9754