By Russ Ragan
If there was even any question if the Lady Indians softball team could perform at the big stage, they answered it with a loud YES. Dodge had a big weekend as they finished a strong third place in the AA state tournament in Columbus. In opening round play they stunned top ranked and previously undefeated Vidalia 4-0. Stunned would be the right word because Vidalia had no idea what happened. In round two, they over came an early 2-0 hole to take a 5-2 win over Bacon County. The game set up a winners bracket battle with Harlem. Folks, Harlem maybe the fastest team that I have ever seen. It was a battle throughout but Dodge would come up just a very little but short in a 3-2 loss. The game set up a re-match with Vidalia. This one would be a pitching battle as Dodge came a run short in a tough 2-1 loss. The state championship eventually went to Harlem, but there last no questions that Dodge had left their mark on both teams.
Dodge County Lady Indians finish a strong third in the AA state tournament
Off to Thursday’s game we go! Lets start by saying this, Vidalia has a very good team and they know it. Self-confidence was evident. Were they over lacking Dodge? I really think so, as many thought a Vidalia Rockmart battle was coming. It’s true that the showdown came but not the way everyone thought.
Star senior Haley Holloway started the bang as she struck out the first two batters on just eight pitches. She allowed a pair of two out hits but she induced a pop up to Margaret Simmons at short to end the threat.
Juliana Bellflower started the Dodge first with a four-pitch walk. Faith Manning laid down a good bunt that Vidalia threw away and the Lady Indians were in business with runners at second and third and nobody out. The runners were still out there when freshman Aniyah Black came through with a single to left center on the first pitch for a 2-0 Dodge lead after the first.
The Lady Indians now began to feel the pressure, keep in mind both teams are Lady Indians, Vidalia had a pair of runners on base when the Dodge defense got a big play by Juliana Bellflower at second as she snagged a line drive going to her right and she doubled off the runner at first to keep the Dodge lead at 2-0. Vidalia for the third time would get a pair of hits but Holloway would strand them to end the inning.
Dodge would get a pair of big insurance news in the bottom of the third. Holloway would single with two out. A fly ball by Simmons would be misplayed in left and Holloway got on her horse and scored for a 3-0 game and Simmons would get to second.
That brought Black to plate and once more she singled scoring Simmons, and that gave Dodge a 4-0 lead going to the fourth. Vidalia had one more threat and that was in the sixth. They got two hits with one out. It looked like a third hit was coming but right fielder Amber Maxwell threw out a runner going to second. Her play was just like the big one she made against Lamar County in Eastman. A ground ball to Simmons would end the inning and that would be their last real chance.
Holloway would get Vidalia in order in the seventh for the 4-0 win. The dreams of an undefeated season for Vidalia were now all over! By the way, that big matchup would come, as Rockmart would fall to Jeff Davis later in the day.
Dodge would play Bacon County in round two. Bacon beat Heard County in extra innings on day one. The game would not start well for Dodge as Bacon would pick up a pair of runs in the first.
The Lady Indians would get a run back in their half of the second. Sara Lann would single home Abby Manning to cut things to a 2-1 game. Bacon would load the bases in the second and Holloway would get out of the inning with a ground out. Dodge would tie the game in the third with one out. Margaret Simmons homered to left center and things were all square at 2-2.
Bacon got a base runner in the fourth, but they got greedy and tried to steal second and Faith Manning gunned her down to keep things tied at 2-2. Dodge got a couple of runners on base in the fourth but couldn’t score. Bellflower got her second walk of the game as she would reach all four times up with two hits and a pair of walks.
Then Bacon got some real bad news; Holloway had now found her groove. She retired the side on just five pitches. Dodge would go to work in the bottom of the fifth. Simmons would reach on an error with one out. That brought up Black and on a two-ball pitch she hit a shot way out in left center for a 4-2 Dodge lead. The freshman had totally stolen the stage as her fifth RBI of the tournament put Dodge in control.
Bacon had little more luck in the sixth as they went down on 13 pitches including a strikeout. Dodge got another run in the seventh. Black got (only) a single to lead off and she went all the way to third on a perfect first by Abby Manning, as they paid no attention to her. Caitlyn Gooch got her home and the lead was 5-2 going to the bottom of the seventh.
Bacon had no chance in the bottom of the seventh. They managed only a weak ground out to Jacey Dowdy at first and a pair of strikeouts later it was all over as Dodge took a 5-2 win.
That set up the big match up with Harlem on Saturday, as I said earlier, they can really, really run as a team. They got on the board in the first but Faith Manning threw out her second runner of the tournament to prevent any further damage and a 1-0 game.
The Lady Indians finally got a base runner in the fourth. Juliana Bellflower hit a deep double to left. Dodge would strand her at second. Bellflower really had a great game in the field as she made four really good plays covering first against all of that Harlem speed. Meanwhile on the mound, Holloway retired 12 out of 13 batters between the second and fifth innings. Bacon would put runners on the corners with one out in the sixth, but Jacey Dowdy made a fine catch on a line drive at first and she would double off the runners to keep it a 1-0 game going to the seventh.
Dodge got their second base runner of the game as Holloway was hit by a pitch (she was fine). That brought Margaret Simmons to the plate. She hit a bomb deep to left on a one ball two strike out pitch to give the Lady Indians a 2-1 lead.
As everyone knows, the bottom half of the inning didn’t go Dodge’s way and they fell just short in a 3-2 loss.
This set up a re-match with Vidalia as they won that much anticipated game against Rockmart. This game would be dominated by pitching. Dodge would get out to an early 1-0 lead. Black would lead off with a single for her sixth hit of the weekend. She would score on a hit by Jacey Dowdy. Vidalia would answer in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1. The pitchers would dominate for a while. Holloway would retire 13 in a row as she got fine plays from Bellflower, Abby Manning and Black. Meanwhile Dodge had no more luck at all as the final 17 batters were all retired. Vidalia would finally homer late to take a 2-1 win.
Harlem and Vidalia knew they were both in a big fight with the Lady Indians on Saturday. Dodge left every thing they had and then some on the field. It was a great weekend for the Lady Indians and their “rookie” head coach Jennifer Bellflower. Many thanks to the huge crowd on Saturday as the atmosphere was electric. As a fan I couldn’t be more proud of our team!
Star senior Haley Holloway started the bang as she struck out the first two batters on just eight pitches. She allowed a pair of two out hits but she induced a pop up to Margaret Simmons at short to end the threat.
Juliana Bellflower started the Dodge first with a four-pitch walk. Faith Manning laid down a good bunt that Vidalia threw away and the Lady Indians were in business with runners at second and third and nobody out. The runners were still out there when freshman Aniyah Black came through with a single to left center on the first pitch for a 2-0 Dodge lead after the first.
The Lady Indians now began to feel the pressure, keep in mind both teams are Lady Indians, Vidalia had a pair of runners on base when the Dodge defense got a big play by Juliana Bellflower at second as she snagged a line drive going to her right and she doubled off the runner at first to keep the Dodge lead at 2-0. Vidalia for the third time would get a pair of hits but Holloway would strand them to end the inning.
Dodge would get a pair of big insurance news in the bottom of the third. Holloway would single with two out. A fly ball by Simmons would be misplayed in left and Holloway got on her horse and scored for a 3-0 game and Simmons would get to second.
That brought Black to plate and once more she singled scoring Simmons, and that gave Dodge a 4-0 lead going to the fourth. Vidalia had one more threat and that was in the sixth. They got two hits with one out. It looked like a third hit was coming but right fielder Amber Maxwell threw out a runner going to second. Her play was just like the big one she made against Lamar County in Eastman. A ground ball to Simmons would end the inning and that would be their last real chance.
Holloway would get Vidalia in order in the seventh for the 4-0 win. The dreams of an undefeated season for Vidalia were now all over! By the way, that big matchup would come, as Rockmart would fall to Jeff Davis later in the day.
Dodge would play Bacon County in round two. Bacon beat Heard County in extra innings on day one. The game would not start well for Dodge as Bacon would pick up a pair of runs in the first.
The Lady Indians would get a run back in their half of the second. Sara Lann would single home Abby Manning to cut things to a 2-1 game. Bacon would load the bases in the second and Holloway would get out of the inning with a ground out. Dodge would tie the game in the third with one out. Margaret Simmons homered to left center and things were all square at 2-2.
Bacon got a base runner in the fourth, but they got greedy and tried to steal second and Faith Manning gunned her down to keep things tied at 2-2. Dodge got a couple of runners on base in the fourth but couldn’t score. Bellflower got her second walk of the game as she would reach all four times up with two hits and a pair of walks.
Then Bacon got some real bad news; Holloway had now found her groove. She retired the side on just five pitches. Dodge would go to work in the bottom of the fifth. Simmons would reach on an error with one out. That brought up Black and on a two-ball pitch she hit a shot way out in left center for a 4-2 Dodge lead. The freshman had totally stolen the stage as her fifth RBI of the tournament put Dodge in control.
Bacon had little more luck in the sixth as they went down on 13 pitches including a strikeout. Dodge got another run in the seventh. Black got (only) a single to lead off and she went all the way to third on a perfect first by Abby Manning, as they paid no attention to her. Caitlyn Gooch got her home and the lead was 5-2 going to the bottom of the seventh.
Bacon had no chance in the bottom of the seventh. They managed only a weak ground out to Jacey Dowdy at first and a pair of strikeouts later it was all over as Dodge took a 5-2 win.
That set up the big match up with Harlem on Saturday, as I said earlier, they can really, really run as a team. They got on the board in the first but Faith Manning threw out her second runner of the tournament to prevent any further damage and a 1-0 game.
The Lady Indians finally got a base runner in the fourth. Juliana Bellflower hit a deep double to left. Dodge would strand her at second. Bellflower really had a great game in the field as she made four really good plays covering first against all of that Harlem speed. Meanwhile on the mound, Holloway retired 12 out of 13 batters between the second and fifth innings. Bacon would put runners on the corners with one out in the sixth, but Jacey Dowdy made a fine catch on a line drive at first and she would double off the runners to keep it a 1-0 game going to the seventh.
Dodge got their second base runner of the game as Holloway was hit by a pitch (she was fine). That brought Margaret Simmons to the plate. She hit a bomb deep to left on a one ball two strike out pitch to give the Lady Indians a 2-1 lead.
As everyone knows, the bottom half of the inning didn’t go Dodge’s way and they fell just short in a 3-2 loss.
This set up a re-match with Vidalia as they won that much anticipated game against Rockmart. This game would be dominated by pitching. Dodge would get out to an early 1-0 lead. Black would lead off with a single for her sixth hit of the weekend. She would score on a hit by Jacey Dowdy. Vidalia would answer in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1. The pitchers would dominate for a while. Holloway would retire 13 in a row as she got fine plays from Bellflower, Abby Manning and Black. Meanwhile Dodge had no more luck at all as the final 17 batters were all retired. Vidalia would finally homer late to take a 2-1 win.
Harlem and Vidalia knew they were both in a big fight with the Lady Indians on Saturday. Dodge left every thing they had and then some on the field. It was a great weekend for the Lady Indians and their “rookie” head coach Jennifer Bellflower. Many thanks to the huge crowd on Saturday as the atmosphere was electric. As a fan I couldn’t be more proud of our team!
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
