L&M claims tourney title in 9-10 league
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The tourney champs plated a pair runs in the bottom of the first inning, added two more in the second and posted three in the third.
Castle Heights took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, and scored four runs in the fourth, threatening a late comeback. But the eventual runners-up went down in order in the fifth inning, and stranded a runner on base in the sixth as L&M nailed down the win.
Savannah Darnbush pitched L&M to the victory in the finals with her third complete-game win of the tournament. She walked six batters, hit four and struck out nine, including the final two hitters she faced with the potential game-tying run on base in the sixth.
Back-to-back free passes to start the game helped Castle Heights take an early lead, as Mahaley Keele walked and scored in the top of the first. But L&M answered in the bottom of the inning, with LeeAnn Dodson singling to start the game and Darnbush helping her cause with a home run to center field.
In the second, L&M?s Kimberly Chisam walked to lead off the frame, and Toni Sullivan followed with a single. Chelsey chandler also walked, and Stacey Arnold came through with a two-run double.
Darnbush singled to start the third, and Jesssie Newby gave her team a 6-2 lead when she homered to right field with one out in the inning. With two away, Terian Turner had a base hit to right, and later scored her team?s seventh run.
Castle Heights? five-run fourth began with a Coly Richardson triple to right-center Lexie Holmes was hit by a pitch. Pinch-hitter Rachel Pedigo drew a walk, and Keele singled before Katie Tubb drove in two more runs with a hit up the middle. Kelly Allphin drew a walk and Lauren Crothers also singled, but the duo was left on base.
Darnbush retired Castle Heights in order in the top of the fifth, and although she hit Laya Holmes with a pitch to start the sixth and later walked Keele, she fanned Tubb and Allphin to end the game and capture the tournament title.
Castle Heights had reached the championship game with a forfeit win over Tri-State Distribution, after falling into the losers? bracket with a 5-3 loss to L&M in the winners? bracket finals.
? The tournament began with Tri-State capturing a 10-3 win over Smarty Pants Day Care. Hannah Wood struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits for Tri-State, which batted around in the first to score five runs, and added five more in the third inning. Smarty Pants plated its three runs in the second inning, with Rachel Nokes driving in two with a triple to left.
Tri-State?s hits came from Wood, Erica Cantrell, Taylor Mullican and Caitlin Talley.
? L&M Carpet began its run to the finals with an 8-2 win over Love, Cantrell & Cope, plating five runs in the first, two more in the second and another in the third inning. Love, Cantrell & Cope?s only runs came in the first, with Morgan McCormick and Lexi Wood both walking and eventually scoring.
? Castle Heights advanced out of the first round by edging Tri-State 2-1, scoring the game-winner in the sixth after the game went to the international tie-breaker rule. Katie Tubb scored her club?s winning run, while Maya Denning had a solo homer for Castle Heights? first run back in the second inning. Tri-State?s only run of the game came in the fifth, when Hannah Wood walked and scored.
? Smarty Pants was ousted from the tournament with a 10-7 loss to Love, Cantrell & Cope, which scored two runs in the first, plated five in the second, added another run in the third and sealed the win with a two-run fourth. Smarty Pants ? which had to bat with an automatic out at the end of its lineup ? was shut out for two innings, but put together a four-run third, which included a home run from Kara Campbell, and posted three more in the fourth inning.
? L&M Carpet scored four runs in the winners? bracket finals to rally past Castle Heights and earn a spot in the championship. Jessie Newby homered in the fourth, while Chelsey Chandler and Allison Bond both had triples in the winning effort. Castle Heights scored its three runs in the first inning, a frame which was started by back-to-back triples from Keele and Tubb.
? In the losers? bracket semifinals, Tri-State downed Love, Cantrell & Cope 11-5, plating four runs in the first, two more in the second, another pair in the third and three runs in the fourth. Tri-State took advantage of 13 walks and a hit batsman, and benefited from a two-run hit from Peyton Griffith in the first as well as a triple from Erica Cantrell in the third on their way to the victory. Love, Cantrell & Cope got back-to-back two-run hits from Lyndi Dodd and Lindsay Skinner in the second, accounting for four of their five runs. Their fifth run came in the third when Adrian Fann singled and scored on a Sara Owens hit.