Lady Bears win two from Indians

By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Bland County opened its 2008 softball season by scoring a pair of 10-6 wins in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Rural Retreat in Bastian on March 31.
In the first game, junior Morgan Brizendine stroked a pair of doubles and drove in two runs while sophomore teammate Laurel Hankins also drove home a pair of runs. Bland County collected seven hits in the game, including five doubles. Jessica Coburn, Adrianna Hutchens, Cari Neal, and winning pitcher Danielle May also netted RBIs.
May went the distance, allowing the Indians seven hits. She struck out four but walked eight and hit two batters. The defense behind her committed five errors that led to four unearned runs.
Neal led off the Bland County first inning with a walk and a stolen base and wild pitch advanced her to third before scoring on a flyout by Hankins. Brizendine then reached on an error and later scored on a single from Hutchens.
Rural Retreat went in front 4-2 in the top of the second with Jett Hagy’s single driving in a run and three others scoring on wild pitches. The Bears bounced back in the bottom of the inning, recapturing the lead on run-scoring doubles by Neal, May, and Brizendine.
Down 5-4, Rural Retreat went in front 6-5 in the top of the third on an error and Brittany Gregory’s two-out, two-run homer. Hagy was thrown out at the plate later in the inning as Bland County avoided further damage after putting two more runners on base.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bears batted around, scoring five times to go up 10-6. Neal reached on a force play to get the rally started and May reached on fourth of five errors the Indians had. After Neal scored on a passed ball, Hankins ripped a double, scoring moments later on Brizendine’s second double, the Bears now holding an 8-6 lead.
After Hutchens fanned, Coburn then cracked another Bears double, scoring Brizendine. Stephanie May then reached on an error by the Indians’ Brittany Ball as Coburn came in to score the 10th and final run.
Brittany Eversole was the losing pitcher for the Indians. In four innings, she struck and four and walked just two Bland County batters. She also had two of the Indians’ seven hits with teammates Hagy, Richelle Rhodes, Laura Stamper, Jennifer Crockett, and Gregory getting the others

GAME ONE
Rural Retreat 042 00—6 7 5
Bland County 230 5x—10 7 2
Eversole and Gregory. D. May and Hankins. WP—D. May (1-0). LP—Eversole. HR—Gregory (RR) 3rd w/one on.
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In game two, Hankins had a double and single for three RBIs and Brizendine added two singles and two RBIs as the Bears again defeated the Indians. Stephanie May also drove in two runs for the winners, who have beaten Rural Retreat six straight times and hold a 7-1 edge in the series.
Brizendine was also the winning pitcher for the Bears. She was roughed up for 11 hits but got key outs when needed. The Indians ended up stranding six runners.
Brizendine struck out two and hit one batter while walking none. Singles errors in the first and fourth innings were Bland County’s only defensive blemishes.
Crockett collected three hits for the Indians with Ball, Eversole, and Audrey Parker getting two each. Ball drove in two runs.
The Bears erupted for five runs in the top of the first inning. Parker was both Neal and Danielle May before Hankins and Brizendine drilled consecutive singles for a quick 3-0 lead. Brizendine later scored on a Stephanie May groundout and Coburn, who had walked, scored the fifth run on a wild pitch.
Bland County’s Erica Ellis scored in the Bears second inning as the score reached 6-0 but the Indians scored twice in the bottom of the third to trim their deficit to 6-2. Ball and Rhodes drove in Eversole and Parker, each of whom had singled.
A walk to Hankins, two steals, and a Stephanie May hit made it 7-2 in the fourth before the Indians rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning to close the gap to 7-6. Hagy, Eversole, and Ball drove in runs in the frame for the Indians and a fourth scored on a two-out error by Hankins.
The Bears catcher quickly atoned for the miscue by blasting a double in the top of the fifth, driving in Neal and Danielle May, both aboard with walks to start the inning. A walk to Brizendine moved Hankins to second and she gave the Bears their final run following a wild pitch and a steal of home.

GAME TWO
Bland County 510 13—10 6 2
Rural Retreat 002 40—6 11 1
Brizendine and Hankins. Parker and Alfaro. WP—Brizendine (1-0). LP—Parker. HR--none