Greenwood, Franklin-Simpson advance through opening round
Published 11:32 am Tuesday, May 28, 2013
- Photo by Nathan Morgan/Daily News The Lady Gators celebrate after Greenwood's Emily Gravette (13) scored a run during Monday's Region 4 softball tournament game against Glasgow, May 27, 2013 at the WKU Softball Complex in Bowling Green, Ky. The Lady Gators won 11-1.
The Greenwood softball team used a game day get-together to keep it loose prior to Monday’s Region 4 Tournament game against Glasgow.
The team gathered for a team meal at senior Brittany Graham’s home, then proceeded to feast on Glasgow pitching in a convincing 11-1 win over the Lady Scotties at the WKU Softball Complex.
Trending
Greenwood (37-0) used two bat-around innings and pounded out 14 hits to advance to tonight’s semifinal game against Franklin-Simpson.
“They have had a ball today,” Greenwood coach Penny Reece said. “They ate and cut up, sat around and watched TV. They came out here and watched the 1 o’clock game (between Bowling Green and Allen County-Scottsville) and still had time to get out here and tailgate and stuff. It was fun and it got them loose.”
After being held scoreless for the first two innings, Greenwood exploded in the third with a four-run inning.
The Lady Gators sent 10 batters to the plate, starting the rally with four straight hits that included an RBI single from Aeron Smith and an RBI double by Angie Adkins.
Glasgow (14-22) got on the board in the fifth on a solo home run from Kelsey Greer, but Greenwood answered with a seven-run rally that clinched the win.
The Lady Gators got a two-run double from Emily Gravette, a two-run single from Kaitlyn Merritt and RBI singles from Graham, Raley Slone and Alexis Dean.
Trending
“It was good to see us put some things together and move some runners around,” Reece said. “They know me. I’m never pleased. I think that is my job, to push them to be the best they can.”
Graham had three hits and two RBIs, while Slone and Dean had three hits and an RBI each.
“I feel like we came out today ready,” Graham said. “We came out relaxed. We talked about it before the game. We wanted to have fun and play ball. We wanted to get back to Greenwood ball and play our game.”
Elizabeth Moss picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.
Greenwood will meet Franklin at 8 p.m. today.
Glas 000 01 – 1 3 3
GW 004 07 – 11 14 1
WP: Moss LP: Duggar
Franklin-Simpson 5, Metcalfe County 0
Shelby Franklin tossed a five-hit shutout and added two hits and an RBI to lead the Lady Cats into today’s semifinals.
“It’s good to get a win in the first round of regionals,” Franklin said. “I think our defense played well. We’re just ready for tomorrow.”
Franklin got the Lady Cats on the board with an RBI double in the second.
Franklin-Simpson (25-13) added a run in the third and capped the scoring with three in the fifth, capped by a two-run triple from Anisha Travelstead.
That was more than enough for Franklin, who struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.
“The biggest thing when you get to this point is, it’s not how you get it done, it is about getting it done,” FS coach Matt Wilhite said. “She’s been a rock for us all season. Our defense is one of our strong points, so we talked to her about pitching to contact and letting our defense do the work.”
Riley Eskridge had two hits for Metcalfe County, which finished 23-7.
Franklin-Simpson will now meet Greenwood in the Region 4 semifinals for the second straight season.
The Lady Gators won 15-0 in four innings last year and beat FSHS 10-0 in six innings earlier this season.
“It’s right where we want to be playing them,” Wilhite said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. They are the ones 37-0. We can be just as good as they are. We’ll be ready to go.”
MCHS 000 000 0 – 0 5 2
FSHS 011 030 x – 5 7 1
WP: Franklin LP: McMurtrey
— Micheal Compton covers prep sports for the Bowling Green Daily News. Follow him at twitter.com/Mcompton428 or visit bgdailynews.com.