Lady Hornets open bracket play with win over Tennessee team
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GULF SHORES, Miss. — The Summit Lady Spartans of Spring Hill, Tenn., became the fifth victim of the Bryant Lady Hornets at the Gulf Coast Classic II. This morning, the Lady Hornets opened bracket play after going 4-0 in their pool with an 8-4 win over the Lady Spartans.
Bryant is scheduled to continue a marathon of bracket games at 2, 3:30, 5 and 6:30 p.m.
Against Summit, the Lady Hornets staked a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and led 6-1 going into the bottom of the third. Regan Ryan, Sarah Evans, Brooklyn Trammell and Maddie Stephens each had two of Bryant’s 11 hits. Macey Jaramillo drove in three with a first-inning home run.
Raven Loveless went the distance in the circle, scattering seven hits and fanning two without a walk. Only two of the Tennessee team’s runs were earned.
The four-run first was ignited by Ryan’s line drive single to left. Gianni Hulett sacrificed her to second and, with two down, Madison Lyles drew a walk. Evans bounced a single into left to make it 1-0 then, on an 0-2 pitch, Jaramillo unloaded to make it 4-0.
An error on an inning-opening bunt set the stage for the Lady Spartans’ first run in the bottom of the inning. The runner wound up at third after a grounder to the right side. She scored on a base hit to right. But Loveless and the Lady Hornet defense squelched the uprising at that point, making the plays on two groundouts.
Bryant got that run back in the top of the second. Stephens mashed a one-out double to center, took third on Ryan’s grounder then scored when Hulett’s bouncer was booted at third.
Loveless pitched around a one-out single in the bottom of the second and the Lady Hornets tacked on another tally in the top of the third when Evans singled with one out, Trammell chased her to third with a two-out knock to right and when the ball was misplayed in right, Evans hustled home.
Summit managed two runs in the bottom of the third. A single, a sacrifice and another base hit had runners at first and third. A tap back to Loveless allowed the trail runner to reach second as the runner at third held. An errant pickoff throw allowed the first run to score than, a strike away from escaping the inning, an RBI single made it 6-3.
Bryant threatened in the fourth but left the bases loaded. In the bottom of the inning, Summit added a run but had another cut off at home plate. An error started the inning, a bunt single put runners at first and second before Loveless got a strikeout. Another bunt resulted in an error that allowed the run. Moments later, the trail runner tried to score on a roller between the circle and the plate but Loveless fielded it and tossed to Chism, the catcher, in time for the out.
The Lady Hornets made it a little more comfortable with two insurance runs in the top of the fifth. Trammell cracked a double and pinch-runner Callie Bradley raced all the way to third on a wild pitch. Loveless got her home with a sacrifice fly to center.
Stephens revved things up again with a liner off the pitch for a single. She went all the way to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan’s base hit to right.
Loveless finished it off by pitching around a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth.
