Perfect To Start 2016
Ace
Taylor - Defense
Lineberry
Break out the folding chair and grab a pack of sunflower seeds for it's that time of year again! The Lady Falcons took to the softball diamond on Tuesday, March 1st for the home opener against the Rams of Starmount High School.
The Falcons made the 2A State Finals in 2015, and sent two players to play collegiate softball (Yale - Guilford, Choplin - App State). Other than that, the team looks very similar to last year's Western Regional Champion. Throw in a few new faces and you have a senior loaded team with a deep bench.
Sydney Miller let loose of the first pitch just after 6pm. Strike! Here we go! Three pitches later, Taylor Wooten went deep in the hole to take a hit away from Nixon for what proved to be the toughest out of the night. Miller saw the minimum through five innings, retiring every batter for the perfect game. She struck out eight of the fifteen batters faced, and didn't allow a ball to leave the infield.
The Falcon offense got rolling in a big way in the bottom of the first inning. Allison Mitchell took the first offering from King and drove a line shot into the gap for a stand-up triple. Swaim and Wooten followed with walks before Logan Wood sent a moon shot over the center field fence for a grand slam and a 4-0 lead.
The Falcons piled on eight more runs in the second inning. Mitchell had a single to start the inning, and then a grand slam of her own in her second appearance of the inning as the Falcons batted around. Kelsey Swaim added a single and Madison Baity contributed a sac fly to give the Falcons two more runs that made the score 12-0 after two innings.
Marissa Lineberry joined the party in the third inning with a long shot to left field for a two-run homer. The final two innings flew by for Miller, and ended with a strikeout after only 58 pitches.
The Starmount Rams are a young team that was outmatched tonight, however, the team will be a lot different by the end of the season.
Up next for the Falcons is the War Eagles of Davie County on Friday night. The JV is slated for a 5:00 pm start with the varsity to follow at Rich Park.
Defense, a Luxury
The Falcon defense showed up for Miller on Tuesday night in East Bend. Taylor Wooten threw out the leadoff batter in the first inning from deep in the hole. Later, Wooten cut across the middle (video above) to take a hit away from another Ram. Jessie Hunter made a diving stop to her left to steal another out while Mitchell locked down third base tighter than the lid on a pickle jar.
Perfect games are rare at any level and take a team effort to accomplish.
Stats
Name
| At the Plate
| RBIs/Runs
|
|---|---|---|
Allison Mitchell
| 3 for 3, 1B, 3B, HR
| 4/3
|
Logan Wood
| 1 for 1. BB, HR
| 4/2
|
Marissa Lineberry
| 2 for 3. 1B, HR
| 2/1
|
Kelsey Swaim
| 1 for 1, 1B, BB (2)
| 0/2
|
Bomb
Logan Wood got to swing the bat once, but she made it count. A towering shot to center field (video above) put the Rams in an early hole. Wood finished with four RBIs as she was walked her other at-bat.
