Monday evening, the SHS Lady Tiger softball team put up double-digit runs for the fourth straight game, something they had failed to do in each of their first ten games of the season. In the non-region game, the Treutlen County Lady Viking pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone and with some timely hitting the Lady Tigers scored 17 runs in the first inning. Leading the Swainsboro offense on the evening were Hannah Howard, Kyleigh Hostilo, Berlkie Bishop, Callie Powell, and Aa’Caylah Murphy. Senior Savannah Hooks got the start in the pitching circle for the home team Lady Tigers. Hooks pitched the complete three inning game allowing two runs on just two hits and two walks. Hooks also struck out three batters as she led her team to the convincing 17-2 victory.
Earlier in the season, the Lady Tigers made long road trips to Augusta and Atlanta to play in Saturday double-headers. This last Saturday, however, they made the much shorter twenty-five mile trip down Highway 80 East to Portal for the Turpentine Diamond Day games hosted by Portal High School. Softball teams from Portal High School, Swainsboro High School, Edmund Burke Academy, and Liberty County participated in the event.
In the first game of the day, Swainsboro would face off against Edmund Burke Academy. Early in the game, everything that Edmund Burke hit seemed to find a hole. The Lady Spartans scored six runs on seven hits in the first two innings and jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. The Lady Tigers, however, would come roaring back to score eight runs in the last two innings of the game to tie the score at ten runs each. Since the Turpentine Diamond Day games were not region games and with the teams playing multiple games on the 100 degree day, it was decided that the game would end in a tie. Leading hitters for Swainsboro were Callie Powell (3-3, 2 RBI), Berklie Bishop (2-3, RBI), Hannah Howard (2-4, 2 RBI), and Jocie Hendrix (2-4, 2 RBI).
In Swainsboro’s second game of the day, the Lady Tigers faced off against the Liberty County Lady Panthers in a game that Swainsboro would control from the beginning to the very end. Swainsboro jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and they never looked back. With one on and one out, in the bottom of the fourth inning, senior shortstop Jocie Hendrix singled up the middle to drive in freshman Holli Schoen to extend the Swainsboro lead to 13-1. The twelve run lead ended the game due to the mercy rule. Offensively, the Lady Tigers were led by Gracie Beneteau (3-4, RBI), Jocie Hendrix (3-4, 3 RBI), Aa’Cayalah Murphy (3-3, 2 RBI), and Kayla Crabb (2-3, RBI). Senior pitcher Callie Powell limited the Liberty County softball team to just one run on one hit in the game to record the win for her Lady Tiger teammates.
Rain from Hurricane Idalia could play a major factor in this week’s action for the Lady Tigers. On the schedule for the remainder of the week was a road trip to Dublin Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. We did not have the results of this game at press time. Another road trip to Johnson County is scheduled for Thursday evening at 5:30.
