Lady Dragons beats up on Lady Bulldog defense to avenge earlier loss
By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, April 16, 2009
Alvord High School softball pitcher Harley Hooks owned the Chico batters when the teams met three weeks ago as she allowed just six hits in leading her team to a 6-1 victory.
Losing that game on their home turf did not sit well with the Lady Dragons so they made sure history did not repeat itself. Instead, they beat up on the Alvord defense to the tune of 15 base hits and the game was never in doubt as Chico cruised to an 11-1 victory.
"This was a must win game for us and the girls were really focused and sharp," said CHS coach Mike May. "We hit the ball extremely well against one of the best pitchers in the district."
The win allowed Chico to move into a tie for third place with Millsap at 6-4, while Alvord is still in second at 7-3 and Brock leads the way at 10-0. The top three teams will advance to the Class 2A state playoffs in three weeks.
The Lady Dragons got the bulk of their 15 hits early in the action. In fact, after taking a 1-0 lead after one inning they erupted for a monster second inning in which the entire order batted to blow open the game 8-0.
The Lady Bulldogs managed a solo run in the bottom half of the inning to erase the shutout, but it did nothing to slow Chico.
The Lady Dragons. who got an RBI triple from Rachel McKinley and an RBI double from Kacie Walker, added solo runs in the fourth, sixth and seven innings to keep the game out of reach.
Along with McKinley and Walker, Delanie Long, Hannah Avants, Malori Moss and Jessica Coffman had two hits each to keep the bases busy in every inning.
The best offensive showing in district play was enough for Chico to get past second-place Alvord, but the defense made sure the Lady Bulldogs never had a chance to make things close.
"We fielded very well, just like we have been doing for several games now," May said.
Coffman had a lot to do with Alvord's struggles as she pitched a gem in the circle. She allowed one run on nine hits with three strikeouts and just one walk.
"It may well have been the best played game of the year for us as we made very few mental errors and made big plays when necessary," May said. "I'm proud of the way the team has responded to the pressure, and I hope that we can keep it up as we face tough teams this week in Paradise and Boyd."
