by Amy Davis

COURTLAND
The Southampton Lady Indians defeated the New Kent Lady Bruins on Monday’s 3A Regional Semi-Final Game. The final score was 9-5, but it was a battle from the start. We knew the rain was going to be a factor in the game impacting both the pitching and the defense; however, we knew the extended forecast was not looking promising and we had to play the game if at all possible.

New Kent took the lead early scoring in the top of the first. Yates reached on an error and Goode knocked her in with a triple. The Indians shut the next three batters down to end the side. The Indians answered by scoring three in the bottom of the first. Senior Hilary Newlon got the offense started with a double followed by a single by Jordyn Greene and a single to load the bases by Maddie Simmons.

Mady Wood singled scoring one run and Carawan Harris singled knocking in two more runs. New Kent scored three more in the top of the second to regain the lead with a string of hits. The Indians trailed after the second 3-4. The Indians held New Kent scoreless in the top of the third, but were able to even the score with a leadoff double by Jordyn Greene. followed with a double from Maddie Simmons driving in Greene. In the top of the fourth, the Indians had three up and three down to hold the Bruins. Gracen Ogburn led off with a single to left and Hilary Newlon singled bringing up Jordyn Greene, who doubled and knocked both Newlon and Ogburn in. Simmons singled and Mady Wood hit a triple to knock two more runs in. Carawan Harris had a sac fly to get one more run in to bring the lead to 9-4.

The Indians held New Kent scoreless in the fifth and sixth. They tried to make a late comeback in the top of the seventh with a leadoff double by Slater who went on to score by a hit from Cleaver. The Indians were able to get the last two outs to retire the inning and end the game.

Mady Wood is the winning pitcher, striking out four. The Indians finished with a total of 16 hits including hits from Gracen Ogburn, Carawan Harris (3 RBIs) and Diamond Jones. Hilary Newlon went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Jordyn Greene went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two doubles. Mady Wood (3 RBIs) and Maddie Simmons (1 RBI) both went 4 for 4 with a triple from Wood and a double from Simmons.

This victory not only sends the Lady Indians to the regional finals, but also grants them a bid to the 3A state tournament. Next up for the Indians is the 3A regional finals on Wednesday. The Indians will travel to the top-seeded Tabb.

The Indians faced Tabb earlier in the year and fell a little short in a close game 2-0. The Indians out-hit the Tigers 6 to 4, but failed to string the hits together to score some much-needed runs. We will go into this game with the confidence we can beat them and with a guaranteed bid to the state tournament some of the pressure is off.

Our defense is solid behind a talented Madyson Wood in the circle. Our bats have been strong all year for some and really come around for others. Our biggest advantage at this point is the chemistry we have as a team. All the successes we are having this year comes from working together and realizing that contributions from everyone is what has equated to the history making season. I constantly talk about extending an at-bat, extending an inning and I’m hoping this team can extend our season a little longer. I, for one, am lucky and privileged to be along for the ride with these talented student athletes but more importantly great young people.

Let’s go, Big Red!

AMY DAVIS is the softball coach at Southampton High School. Contact her at 653-2751.