HOW SWEEP IT IS
♦ Pepperell pitcher Chloe Jones goes the distance in doubleheader at Pace Academy as the Lady Dragons advance to the Sweet 16.
Chloe Jones pitched two complete games, Jolie Splendore homered and the Pepperell Lady Dragons advanced to the Sweet 16 after a two-game sweep of the Pace Academy Knights on Monday in Atlanta.
Pepperell defeated Pace Academy 4-2 in game one, then followed it up with an 8-1 triumph to seal the deal.
“Kids showed a lot of heart and determination today,” Lady Dragons head coach Jeff Rickman said. “All the credit goes to them. Chloe Jones pitch two heck of a ballgames. The kids made the defensive plays they needed to make and we put the ball in play.”
Game 1
Pepperell entered Monday’s contest as the No. 3 seed from a highly-competitive Region 7-AA. Pepperell junior pitcher Chloe Jones opposed Pace Academy senior Sydney Silverstein.
Pepperell struck first in the top of the first inning and led 2-0 after three complete.
The top of the fourth proved to be a productive one for the Lady Dragons.
After cashing in a run on a fielder’s choice, Jolie Splendore battled out an at-bat, until sending a 3-2 pitch off the scoreboard and beyond the center field wall. Her solo shot made it 4-0.
A major turning point that will probably give Atlanta Braves fans deja vu occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Down 4-1 with the bases loaded and only one out, Pace Academy’s Marissa Goodman hit a bouncing ball up the middle.
The runner from third would score, but a throw home to catcher Morgan Willingham would beat the runner attempting to score from second base. Thinking quickly, Willingham fired a dart to Chloe Mitchell at third base, who in turn applied the perfect tag to the base runner originally from first for an inning-ending 4-2-5 double play.
The sequence would become a focal point of what could have been a more productive inning in the game, as Pace only managed three base hits the rest of the way.
Jones pitched seven strong innings, conceding six hits and notching four punchouts.
In the game one loss, Silverstein recorded 12 strikeouts over her seven innings of work.
Game 2
In game two, Pace would bat as the “away” team and Pepperell as the “home” squad.
Pace Academy would send Sophia Mador to the mound to oppose Jones, pitching once more for the Lady Dragons.
Pepperell jumped out early and would not look back.
Splendore, who led the way offensively with four hits in the two games, delivered a leadoff single. Three batters later, Willingham would double to deep center field, scoring both Splendore and Jones for a 2-0 edge.
Pace, facing an early predicament, made a pitching change, electing to go back to Silverstein for the rest of game two.
The Knights’ only run of the second game came via a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning.
At 4- 1 in the sixth inning, Pepperell was looking for insurance and got just that as Splendore grounded into a fielder’s choice. However, the attempted throw home got past Pace’s catcher, allowing two runs to score to the tune of 6-1 edge.
Another fielder’s choice and a passed ball would see two more runs cross home plate and Jones took care of the rest. In game two, Jones would scatter nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
“She’s a competitor and she knew that we were going to have her back defensively,” Rickman said. “It was a great team effort.”
Up Next
The Lady Dragons travel to Banks County for their Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday for a best- of- 3 series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5 p. m., immediately followed by game two at 7 p.m.