Photo 📷 Credit : Velvet Creed Leonard
Carroll County High Softball made all of the plays they needed to and added a couple of highlight reel efforts for good measure in their 5-1 victory over Galax High School at Cavalier Park.
Emma Harman pitched a complete game, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six along the way. CCHS levels its record at 4-4 on the season while Galax drops to 3-5.
The Lady Cavaliers scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning after making more lineup adjustments as Brooke Webb ( sprained ankle) joined Holly Miller and Faith Clontz on the injury list.
Bayleigh Allen reached base on a fielders choice and speedy Madison Coleman beat out an infield single with both runners advancing on an error at the end of the play. Raylee Goins joined them on the base paths on a hit by pitch, bringing up Senior Carlie Beamer.
Beamer lined a 2-run single to give CCHS the lead and Laynie-Jo Leonard followed with a sacrifice bunt to bring home Goins to complete the rally.
” Emma Harman pitched really well for us tonight, from start to finish,” said Head Coach Rick Nester. ” Once we scored the three runs it gave us some breathing room and then we made plays behind her. It was our best defensive effort of the season and to do it with so many players forced to play out of their natural position just makes it stand out even more.”
The first stand out play took place in the top of the third inning after Galax loaded the bases with two outs. Jayden Leonard hit a line drive that appeared destined to be a 2-run single until Coleman was able to get a great jump on the ball, making the catch to keep the 3-0 lead intact.
Carroll County pushed the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bottom of the order once again coming through. Allen reached base on a HBP and Kenzie McMillian ran the bases. Coleman chased her over to third base with a double and Goins brought her home with a RBI ground out.
Coleman made another play in the top of the seventh inning after Beth Sizemore drilled what looked to be a single to centerfield. Coleman played the ball on one hop and rifled a throw back in to second base to retire Bella Wirt, making the play into a fielders choice.
Galax plated its run in the top of the sixth inning but a tremendous defensive play that involved a trio of Lady Cavaliers capped the rally at just one. Madi Hanks was on second base after her RBI double landed just inside the right field line and Molly Plant was at the plate.
Plant send a hard ground ball back up the middle that second baseman McMillian stretched to get a glove on, keeping it in the infield. Short Stop Addie Greene scooped up the rolling ball and fired to first base in time to record a 4-6-3 rally ending ground out.
” After Galax cut ✂️ our lead to 4-1 I challenged the girls to get the run back,” added Nester. And they did just that by execution of small ball. Our ability to get our bunts down put pressure on them.”
Leonard was out on her bunt to start the inning on a bang-bang play before Harman reached on a single. Laiken Burnett stepped to the plate with consecutive base hits to her credit and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Natalie Burress drove Harman home with the second of her two base hits.
Carroll County finished with 10 base hits on the night with Greene joining Burress, Coleman and Burnett in the two hit club. The offense performed, the defense shined and Harman threw strikes.
The team will look to build on the victory on Tuesday night when they travel over to Floyd County for the first of two games with the Buffalo 🐃. This time the Junior Varsity team will play too as they are set to host FCHS at Cavalier Park.
Galax 000 001 0 – 1 4 1
Carroll 030 011 X – 5 10 0
A.S.P.N on The Hill 