Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. Thunder possible. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..
Tonight
Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Huntland's Hadley Gardner connects on a pitch during a game Tuesday at Fayetteville City High School. Gardner had three hits, including a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored in the 18-0 win.
Huntland's Hadley Gardner connects on a pitch during a game Tuesday at Fayetteville City High School. Gardner had three hits, including a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored in the 18-0 win.
The Huntland High School Lady Hornets beat the Fayetteville Lady Tigers 18-0 on the road Tuesday for their sixth win of the season.
The Lady Hornets put together a 16-run third inning to create a massive early advantage and wrap up the district contest quickly via the mercy rule.
Huntland head softball coach Michael Tipps said his players did a good job of making adjustments at the plate as the game went on.
“The first time through the lineup, we didn’t swing it very well. We were hitting a lot of balls straight into the ground,” he said. “I thought we made an adjustment. We hit a lot of hard balls today. If their pitcher is throwing in strikes, you’ve got to create pressure on the defense.”
Tipps added that the Lady Hornets were able to pressure the Lady Tigers into a few errors on hard-hit balls which helped to extend innings.
The Lady Hornets put a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the first as Bella Smith reached base on an error and Hadley Gardner hit a double, but the Lady Tigers were able to escape the inning with no runs scoring.
The Lady Hornets got their first two runs of the day in the top of the second as Analyn Riddle and Smith hit RBI singles to make it a 2-0 game.
The Lady Hornets then sent 20 batters to the plate in the third inning with 16 of them later crossing home plate as runners.
The scoring plays for the inning included Jocy May scoring off of an error on a ball hit by Lily Jackson, Emily Stewart hitting an RBI single, Riddle adding an RBI double, Smith clearing the bases with a three-run triple, Gardner contributing an RBI single, May driving a two-run home run over the center-field fence, Camerin Davis and Lily Jackson scoring off of errors on balls put into play by Stewart and Molly Tipps, respectively, Abigail Denton hitting an RBI single as a pinch hitter and Gardner blasting a grand-slam home run to left field to round things out.
The Lady Tigers put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the third on an error and an infield single for their only hit of the contest, but they weren’t able to push a run across as the Lady Hornets won by 18.
Smith pitched a complete-game shutout for the Lady Hornets with three strikeouts recorded, one hit allowed and one walk issued.
With the win, the Lady Hornets improved to 6-5 on the season and 4-2 in district play.
They will next play Wednesday at Cornersville High School. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
