Lady Bulldogs start out season 3-0
The first full week of regular season play for the Cedartown softball team had some close calls but finished with an unblemished record for the Lady Bulldogs.
The team opened the week with a marathon 11-inning win over Cartersville before playing in a tournament in Dalton on Wednesday and picking up two more victories, one being a one-run thriller against Cass.
Cedartown outlasted the Cartersville Lady Canes 7-5 in 11 innings for their first official game of the season in Bartow County. It may not have been as quick or pretty as their scrimmage win over Woodland, but this was a hard-fought triumph for CHS that could have gone either way.
Cartersville got things started in the first inning, scoring two unearned runs off Cedartown starter Reagan Clarke. After 1 1/2 scoreless innings, Cedartown was able to find their first offensive success.
With two runners aboard, junior Marycille Brumby launched a moonshot well over the outfield wall. The North Georgia commit’s homer gave the Lady Bulldogs their first lead of the game, holding a 3-2 advantage in the top of the third.
Unfortunately, a disastrous fifth inning put Cartersville back in the driver’s seat. The Lady Canes again benefitted from Cedartown errors, tallying three runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Their 5-3 lead would not last long. In the top of the sixth, the Lady Bulldogs were able to tie it up on a big hit by Alexas Poole. The senior leader barely missed clearing the fence with her two-run single, tying the game.
Though each team had scoring opportunities in the latter innings, it seemed as if neither could bring runners home. That all changed in the top of the 11th inning when Carlie Holland scored on a Cartersville error. Later in the inning, Taylor Westmoreland touched home plate following an RBI hit by Ava Allred.
Clarke, who battled adversity in the form of defensive errors throughout the game, came through when it mattered most. Although the ace was visibly exhausted in the bottom of the final inning, Clarke kept fighting and recorded the final three outs to earn an 11-inning complete-game victory.
Coach Eddie Gambrell was proud of his team but definitely viewed the performance as a chance to improve.
“We have to get better but we fought and I’m happy with that. We have a lot of things to correct tomorrow,” Gambrell said. “Reagan Clarke pitched the best game of her career.”
Clarke allowed five runs – none earned – on three hits. She tallied eight strikeouts and allowed six walks.
Poole went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Kaylee Nikolopoulus was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Holland finished 2-for-6 with one run.
Brumby went 1-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in while Westmoreland was 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
Cedartown defeated Murray County 10-2 in its first game in Dalton on Saturday. Emme Arp threw four innings and allowed just one run, while Poole had two hits and two RBIs.
In the second game, the Lady Bulldogs pulled out a 13-12 victory over Cass that ended when Holland posted the walk-off hit for Cedartown in the bottom of the fifth of a shortened game.
Cass had a 12-6 lead after three innings, but Cedartown closed down the Lady Colonels’ offense and put up four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, capping it off with Holland’s big hit.
Poole finished with three RBIs, while Reagan Clarke threw all five innings, striking out four.
Cedartown will host Bremen on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Rockmart starts 5-1
Rockmart’s softball team has opened the season with a 5-1 record with the Lady Jackets’ only loss coming in a tough 1-0 battle against Class 4A LaGrange.
Now playing in Class 3A, Rockmart began the season with big wins over Trinity Christian (14-2), Landmark Christian (18-0) and Columbus (103). It had contests last week against fellow Region 7-3A teams North Murray and Murray County, winning 13-1 and 12-6 respectively.
Rockmart and Cedartown were set to square off against each other on Friday, but rain forced the game to be postponed. A make-up date has not been set.
The two county rivals are scheduled to meet in Rockmart on Aug. 26 at 5 p.m.