17-run burst lifts Lady Hornets in game one
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Photos by Kevin Nagle
By Bridget Bauer
BRYANT–Though the Bryant Lady Hornets took care of business against the Pine Bluff Lady Zebras in a doubleheader Friday, it took an inning for them to get going in the first game.
As expected, the Lady Hornets (3-2, 2-1 6A/7A-South) run-ruled Pine Bluff in the first of two games, 19-0. The catalyst was a 17-run production in the second frame. Bryant did pick up two quick runs in the first inning but didn’t explode until the second stanza.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Bryant Coach Debbie Clark said. “We talked about the fact that we wouldn’t be facing pitchers of the caliber and speed we are accustomed to. Great hitters adjust to every pitch, and they knew what we were looking for.”
Katy Stillman started off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a wild pitch. Macey Jaramillo followed with a single and then went home on Kaley Coppock’s fielder’s choice. Those were all the runs before the Bryant exploded in the bottom of the second.
“We scored first and had a big inning,” Clark said. “In a game like this, it is hard to lose focus and with the distractions we’ve had this week, things could have gone wrong but didn’t.”
In the second inning, the Lady Hornets tallied 13 runs and went through 15 batters before getting their first two outs on a doubleplay. With two outs, they added four more runs and sent six more batters to the plate.
Bryant tallied the runs on eight hits and four errors and racked up nine walks, and Coppock highlighted the stanza with a three-run double and an RBI base on balls. Stillman added RBIs on a single and a walk, and both Stillman and Tori Hernandez chipped in two hits apiece.
In addition to Coppock and Jaramillo, Julie Ward, Kayla Jolley, Shayla McKissock and Skylar Harper also contributed hits as the Lady Hornets finished the contest with 10 hits.
