Lady Bulldogs fall short in a rainy road game
Published 11:31 pm Wednesday, March 11, 2020
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StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Bulldogs Sophie Cable leads off the top of the third inning with a bloop single just over the head of University High’s shortstop.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Bulldogs Hannah Lyons (25) turns on a pitch in the top of the second delivering an RBI single to centerfield.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Despite juggling the ball, Hampton’s Rachel Fair (9) hauls in a liner to third to end the bottom of the second inning.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
University High’s Katie Stancil (2) slides in safely under the tag of the Lady Bulldogs Maddie Setlock (2) for an inside the park home run in the bottom of the second.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Bulldogs Shae Maslin (1) leads off the top of the second with a double to left-center field.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
After leading off the top of the second with a double the Lady Bulldogs Shae Maslin (1) is safe at third on a steal after the ball gets past University High’s third baseman Alaina Abla.
BY NIC MILLER
STAR CORRESPONDENT
JOHNSON CITY – While the Hampton Bulldogs basketball team clinched a spot in the state tournament on Monday night, it was back to business for the rest of the school.
Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs softball team took part in an early-season contest on the road against the Lady Bucs of University High.
After a quick first three outs for the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Bucs got things started fast after Cynthia Dobbins smacked the ball to right field to bring two runners across, giving University High an early 2-0 lead.
But the Lady Bulldogs (0-1) wouldn’t give up as they were able to cut the lead to 2-1 in the second after a Hannah Lyons RBI single with two outs in the frame.
In the home half, it was Dobbins once again driving in two more runs with Riley Owens and Katie Stancil also contributing to the RBI column with a triple and an inside-the-park home run, respectively. After two, the Lady Bucs had pulled out in front, 7-1.
The Lady Bulldogs were still fighting, however, as Madison Setlock was able to send a pitch to centerfield in the third to cut the deficit to five runs.
One full inning later, the Hampton comeback hope was still alive as the Lady Bulldogs were able to cut the deficit to 7-3 after a wild pitch from the Lady Bucs.
The Lady Bucs came out in the home half of the fourth and were able to extend their lead thanks to Sierra Broome who sent a pitch to right field, bringing two more runs across.
The ball game would conclude in the 5th as Owens would once again bring runners home, this time increasing the lead to ten runs, thus forcing the umpires to call the game as a 13-3 loss for the Lady Bulldogs.
Although the score didn’t seem promising for the Lady Bulldogs, Lady Bulldog head coach Chelsey Weddle said, “There were a lot of positive things that we did, we hit the ball very well and we made some great plays on defense as well.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of practice with the full team, with our basketball players just coming back and our cheerleaders not being back yet. All you can do is learn and improve from a loss, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
