The GPS Bruisers have been working hard both night and day in recent months with the intention of getting their softball program back to the upper echelon where it was for so many years and they seem to be making progress along those lines.
The Bruisers finally got over the .500 mark with Friday’s 6-3 win over Chattanooga Christian as they improved to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in region play.
GPS coach London Cornelius is not only teaching them how to win by playing the game the right way, but to have a little fun along the way as well.
That was certainly the case at the T.A. Lupton Field Friday afternoon as they sent 10 hitters to the plate in the second inning where they scored six runs. The Lady Chargers were able to score single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome that early deficit.
“I’m relieved,” Cornelius said after taking a deep breath following the game.
“We were ready to play yesterday, but we were able to keep the momentum on our side. We had to fight for it, but were able to hold them at the end.
“These kids just want to win and they wanted this game badly. But we also had a little fun along the way and that’s what it’s all about,” the spirited head coach added.
CCS head coach Steven Rogers knows that his team had plenty of chances as they left at least one runner on base in all seven innings, including the bases loaded in the first and third innings where they only had one run to show for their effort.
“We had plenty of chances as we left a dozen on base, including the bases loaded twice early,” he said.
“I thought we played well for the most part, but we just have to learn how to get timely hits with runners on base. Give credit to GPS as they earned this one, but we just have to forget about this one and move on,” he added.
Leadoff hitter Hannah Smith, who is just an eighth grader, led off the game with an infield hit and went to third when Emily Matthews followed with a sharp double down the line in left. Nyla Halfacre doubled to get Smith in with the first run, but the Bruisers avoided further trouble when pitcher Emma Leinberger struck out the last two hitters she faced after walking Alli Matthews to load the bases.
GPS knotted the score with a run in the bottom of the first. Catcher Bailey Long doubled with two outs and courtesy runner Ansley Bratcher scored on an infield error.
Smith doubled with two outs in the second, but was stranded when Leinberger got Matthews to fly to Jayla Gladden in center for the third out.
The Bruisers then went to work in the second when they sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored their last five runs.
Sydney Lawson led off with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Haidin Lawrence. A single by Panda Reyes put runners on the corners, setting the stage for Gladden’s three-run homer just past the scoreboard in right-center.
The Bruisers weren’t finished as Leinberger followed with an infield single, Long reached on another CCS error before Addi Smith drove in the fourth run with a single to right. Nana Reyes made it 6-1 with another single to right.
Leinberger got the win as she pitched the first two innings and then the fifth and sixth. She allowed all three CCS runs, but avoided further trouble when her defense made some outstanding plays.
Gladden had two spectacular catches in center, one where she made a long, running grab and another with a stretched-out dive to the infield, but it was her one-hop throw from center to Long at the plate to nail Halfacre to end the sixth after a single by Alli Matthews that may have been the play of the game.
We have to give a lot of credit to Long as she had a bone-crushing collision with Halfacre three feet up the line, but was somehow able to hang on for the third out.
Smith pitched the third and fourth innings for the Bruisers and then finished the game with a scoreless seventh. Ella Claire Chaffin walked with one out, but Smith got pinch-hitter Aspen Williams on a sharp fly to left for the second out before getting Claire Clark on a bouncer to second to end the game.
GPS finished the game with 11 hits, including four players with two each. Those included Long, Smith, Nana Reyes and Panda Reyes.
Smith had three hits to lead the Lady Chargers, who finished with 10 for the game. Emily Matthews and Halfacre both had two hits as well.
Chattanooga Christian returns to action with a road trip to Signal Mountain on Monday while the Bruisers will be at home that same day to entertain Silverdale.
While GPS is now 6-5 overall and 3-0 in region play, CCS is now 6-9 overall and 0-1 in region play.
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 100 011 0 – 3 10 2
GIRLS PREPARATORY SCHOOL 150 000 x – 6 11 0
Smith and Emily Matthews; Leinberger, Smith (3), Leinberger (5), Smith (7) and Long.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)