PENDLETON — It almost looked too easy for the Pendleton Heights softball team as it won the championship 14-3 in the Madison County Tournament Friday, April 13, against the Alexandria-Monroe Tigers.
The championship game began with a quick Alexandria-Monroe run in the first inning.
However, once Pendleton Heights took over on offense, its quick hitting proved to be too much for the Tigers.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The Arabians scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning to set the tone for the game. The Arabians scored on a stolen base by Lauren Landes, a double by Olivia Conner, a triple by Jayden Brown, and an error.
This pace set by Pendleton Heights was not unusual, as routs of Anderson Preparatory Academy and Frankton in earlier rounds of the tournament laid the groundwork for the Arabians’ dominant run.
As the second inning got going, Alexandria-Monroe could not score. Then the Arabians took over again on offense.
Nine runs in the bottom of the second put them up 13-1. Scoring came from singles by Brown and Kylie Davis, doubles by Landes and Savannah Hawhee, and a triple by Chloe Closser.
Senior pitcher Kelsey Sturgeon would have nothing to do with a possible Tiger comeback. Pitching a complete game, Sturgeon allowed only five hits. After allowing one run in the first inning, Sturgeon didn’t allow another run until the fifth inning, when the game was all but finished.
A dominating win against Alexandria-Monroe topped off an incredible county tournament run that featured blowout after blowout: An 18-1 win against Anderson Prep and a 12-3 win against Frankton.
The Madison County Tournament didn’t start the same for Lapel softball but included some big wins in the end.
A tough 9-6 loss against Frankton in its first game meant Lapel would be playing for third place in the tournament.
Despite this loss, Lapel never quit and posted dominating wins against Liberty Christian, 16-1, and Elwood, 17-6, to take third place.