The Huntland High School Lady Hornets lost to the Eagleville Lady Eagles 10-4 at home Saturday in the District 9A championship game.
The score was kept close through the first half of the game, but the top-seeded Lady Eagles pulled away in the fifth and sixth innings to leave second-seeded Huntland as the runner-up for the bracket.
Huntland head softball coach Michael Tipps praised the play of starting pitcher Kinah Mason as she made her first appearance of the season for the Lady Hornets after returning from an offseason injury.
“(Mason) pitched a heck of a game. She went a lot longer than I wanted her too, but we’ve just got to clean up things,” he said before referring to some errors late in the contest. “You play good teams, you can’t make mistakes in the field, and we made a few too many.”
The Lady Hornets put two runners in scoring position in the top of the first as Bella Smith reached base on a fielder’s choice and Hadley Gardner walked before both runners moved up 60 feet on a Jocy May groundout. However, a hard line drive off the bat of Blair Finchum was snagged by Eagleville’s second baseman for the third out of the inning.
The Lady Eagles then took the lead in the bottom of the first as a solo home run gave them an early 1-0 edge.
The Lady Hornets got on the board in the top of the third as Gardner hit an RBI single down the right-field line and Finchum contributed an RBI infield single to give Huntland a 2-1 lead.
However, the Lady Eagles scored a tying run in the bottom half of the third off of an error to make it a 2-2 game early.
The Lady Eagles loaded the bases with only one out in the bottom of the fifth on a single and two fielder’s-choice groundballs before a sacrifice fly and a bases-clearing double scored four total runs in the frame to put the Lady Hornets in a 6-2 hole late.
The Lady Eagles put up another four runs in the bottom of the sixth with a few Huntland errors extending the inning as the deficit grew to 10-2 going into the final inning.
The first three batters for Huntland reached base in the top of the seventh as Smith and Gardner both singled and Jocy May drew a walk before consecutive sacrifice flies from Finchum and Camerin Davis scored one run each.
However, the Lady Hornets’ attempted rally ended there as the final out of the game was recorded on a groundout to seal the loss by six.
Mason pitched the first 5 2-3 innings for the Lady Hornets with three strikeouts, six hits, four walks, six earned runs and four unearned runs allowed.
Bailey Morris faced one batter in relief and induced a groundout to end the sixth inning.
Following the conclusion of the game, Smith, Davis and Gardner received all-district recognition for the season, and Morris and Emily Stewart were selected as honorable mentions for the all-district team.
Gardner, May and Morris were named to the district’s all-tournament team.
May also got individual recognition as the co-Offensive MVP for District 9A, and Tipps received the district’s Coach of the Year award.
With the loss, the Lady Hornets moved to 11-8 on the season.
Lady Hornets 5, Moore County 3
The Lady Hornets beat the Moore County Raiderettes 5-3 at home earlier in the day on Saturday in an elimination semifinal game for the District 9A tournament.
The Lady Hornets scored the first four runs of the day and held off an attempted rally from the Raiderettes late in the contest to advance to the district title game.
Tipps highlighted the significance of the victory as one that clinched a spot in the Region 5A tournament for his team.
“That’s the goal at this time of year, just keep surviving and advancing,” he said. “We got a little bit of a lead and we kept letting (Moore County) chip back into it, but we made enough plays there at the end to get the win.”
The first two runs of the contest came in the bottom of the first as a two-out single from Gardner was followed by a two-run home run from May to get Huntland on the board.
The early lead was doubled in the bottom of the third as Gardner hit a two-run shot of her own to drive herself and Morris home and make it a 4-0 game.
The Raiderettes got their first run of the day in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI double, and a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the fifth brought in another run for Moore County to put the score at 4-2.
After Morris singled and stole second base to start the bottom of the fifth, the Raiderettes elected to intentionally walk Gardner and May consecutively to load the bases with one out in the frame.
A groundball off the bat of Finchum was relayed home to get Morris out, but the ensuing throw to first base missed the mark, allowing Gardner to score from second base on the play. May was tagged out at home on the same play, but the run from Gardner made it a 5-2 game late.
The Raiderettes got that run back in the top of the sixth, however, with an RBI groundout cutting the lead back down to 5-3.
The Lady Hornets loaded the bases again in the bottom of the sixth with Davis and Stewart singling and Morris drawing a walk, but a popout ended the frame with no damage done.
Pitcher Smith retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to leave the potential tying run on deck as the Lady Hornets held on to win by two.
Smith pitched a complete game for the Lady Hornets with three strikeouts, five hits, five walks, two earned runs and one unearned run allowed.
With the win, the Lady Hornets improved to 11-7 on the season.
They will next play Monday at Richland High School in a semifinal game for the Region 5A tournament. A start time for the game had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
