It’s a week off, but not really for the Madison County Red Raider softball team.
The ladies are working towards Saturday and the first round of the region tournament as Madison County takes on the winner of Winder-Barrow versus Loganville.
UPDATED:Loganville defeated Winder-Barrow after eight innings on Wednesday. Madison County faces Loganville at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sat.
Winder-Barrow is the number four seed while Loganville is the number five seed. During the regular season, Madison County lost a shootout in extra innings to Loganville early on then defeated Winder-Barrow by a 10-run margin.
Loganville defeated Winder-Barrow two weeks ago by the same margin, 12-2. However, Red Raider head coach Doug Kesler isn’t about to prepare for one team over the other.
According to Kesler, Winder-Barrow is a scrappy team and is capable of beating anyone, he also said that Loganville has a good team. It comes down to Wednesday night as these to teams went at each other in a split showdown on Tuesday. The winner will face the Red Raiders at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday in Danielsville.
Despite earning the top seed in 8-AAAA and finishing the regular season on a nine-game tear, Madison County is not slacking off. This week has afforded the girls a chance to rest and heal up some scrapes. Kesler said that the team is also cautiously optimistic that Ivie Drake will be ready to return by Saturday. Drake had to sit the last couple of games out due to an injury sustained during the Morgan County Invitational.
Overall the girls continue to do what they have been in practice with one goal in mind, getting back into the state playoffs.
“I am happy for the girls especially this group of seniors.” Kesler said, “The main thing is that theses seniors have a chance at returning to the state tournament and that is important.”
The biggest game, according to Kesler, was the Heritage game that secured the number one seed for the Red Raiders.
“There was a lot riding on that game,” Kesler said. “We had a little adversity in the fact that we were missing one of our leading hitters in Ivie Drake and had some other girls that were banged up pretty good, but we rose to the occasion and step up. We had some girls come through in some big ways and we were able to win that game. At that point in the season it was big for us because it allowed us to claim the number one seed going into the region tournament.”
Leading hitters for the Red Raiders against Heritage were Brandi Osborne going 3-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored, Samantha LaZear hitting 2-2 with two runs, Elizabeth Whieldon batting 1-3 with a double for two RBIs, and Haley Peeples hit 2-3 for a run. Also getting hits were Timia Skelton, Emily Mann, and Sarah Smith who hit a double.
Earning the win on the mound was Smith pitching for four innings allowing six hits and two earned runs with one strikeout and one walk. Gabby Gillespie pitched three innings for the save, giving up one hit and two runs, one earned.
The Heritage game may have been the biggest game last week, but a more emotional game was the 8-2 win over East Jackson on Wednesday for senior night.
Madison County has eight seniors on the team this season. Abby Atkinson, Brandi Osborne, Timia Skelton, Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Whieldon, Cortney Boggs, Haley Peeples and Emily Mann.
The Red Raiders started things off with four runs in the first and by the fourth inning were ahead 7-2 as East Jackson scored two in the top of the fourth.
Leading batters for the Red Raiders were Mann hitting 2-3 for two runs and an RBI, Peeples batting 2-4 for two runs, Duncan hitting 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Skelton with a triple for two RBIs.
Boggs earned the win pitching seven innings with five strikeouts and two walks, giving up two hits for two unearned runs.
In the final game of the regular season, Madison County played a three inning, 23-0, fishing in a barrel contest with Clarke Central. Clarke Central is struggling with a lack of a feeder program and some inexperience issues, according to Kesler.
Madison County had several hitters including two girls who made their first appearances this season. Sam Wyatt hit a double for an RBI, while Kayla Callaway had a hit. Peeples went 3-4 for three RBIs. Duncan went 3-3 with two doubles for three RBIs. Smith hit 2-4 for two RBIs. Gillespie batted 2-2 for three RBIs. Abby Morgan batted 3-3 for an RBI. LaZear had a hit. Skelton hit a double for two RBIs. Bri Carr had a hit. Whieldon had a hit for an RBI.
Smith pitched two innings, facing six batters for five strikeouts. Gillespie finished out the game on the mound with three strikeouts and one hit.
