By: J.R. Tidwell
The Bevill State-Sumiton Lady Bears softball team defeated the Northwest Shoals Lady Patriots 6-1 and 7-5 in a two game series on Thursday.
The Lady Bears started game one in a jam. Northwest Shoals loaded the bases in the top of the first, but the Lady Bears, behind pitcher Michelle Cheatwood, managed to get out of the inning without giving up a run. Bevill State struck back in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs in a single inning. After a walk, Katie Hubbert hit a two-run homerun over the left field wall. Northwest Shoals allowed another run by walking two batters, giving up a single to Erin Whitlock, and walking a third batter. Ashley Webb got a single on a fielder’s choice to third base, but the Lady Patriots managed to get the force out at home. April Poole finished off the productive inning for Bevill State by hitting a two-RBI single to left centerfield.
Neither team managed anything on offense until the top of the third, when Northwest Shoals got on the scoreboard with a sac-fly RBI. However, this would be the only run the Lady Patriots would get during the first game. Bevill State added another insurance run to a hefty lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Karly Bergeron hit a two-out triple to right centerfield, and a walk allowed the Lady Bears to score a run on a crafty piece of base running, as Bergeron stole home on a trick play. The Lady Patriots could not overcome Bevill State’s comfortable lead, and the Lady Bears added a conference match to the win column. Cheatwood, who threw for the entire seven inning game for the Lady Bears, gave up one run off five hits in 26 at-bats, with four strikeouts and no walks.
Game two saw a much more heated contest, as both teams came out of the dugout fired up in the first inning. Northwest Shoals gained a two run lead in the top of the first on an RBI single and a run given up by an error. The Lady Bears matched their opponent in the bottom of that inning, scoring two runs as Hubbert went downtown again, this time over the wall in left centerfield. Pitcher Valerie Cook retired the side in the top of the second, allowing Bevill State to take the lead in the bottom of the inning. Whitlock and Kayla O’Rear both reached base on fielding errors, with Whitlock reaching home on a wild pitch and Cook hitting an RBI single to shallow left centerfield to bring in another run.
The Lady Patriots tied the score at four apiece in the top of the third on an RBI double and an RBI single. Northwest Shoals seemed poised to take their first lead of the day in the top of the fourth, but good fielding got the Lady Bears out of the inning, stranding runners on second and third. Cook put Bevill State back in the lead with a solo homerun to left field in the bottom of the fourth. The Lady Bears added insurance to their one run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning as Hubbert hit her third two run homerun of the day, fittingly knocking this one over the right field wall. Northwest Shoals attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh, but managed only one run, giving the Lady Bears another conference victory. Cook pitched all seven innings, giving up five runs off seven hits in 32 at-bats, with five strikeouts and two walks.
The Bevill State-Sumiton Lady Bears (13-5, 4-0) will put their undefeated conference record on the line Tuesday with a doubleheader against the Calhoun Lady Warhawks.
