Lady Phoenix drop region championship in 3rd game
The Calhoun Times
The Sonoraville softball team hosted Coahulla Creek in the Region 6-AAA Championship Series in Calhoun starting on Tuesday night. Sonoraville and Coahulla Creek both had a win apiece in the first two games on Tuesday, which forced a third game on Wednesday evening that Coahulla Creek won 4-2.
In that final game, the Lady Phoenix started on the front foot, as they kicked off the scoring with two runs in the third inning. Kelly Green’s sacrifice fly sent in Emma Springfield, and Olivia Hopper’s single scored Molly Speach.
However, Coahulla Creek came back and scored a run in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh inning to win 4-2. Natasha Hufstetler talked about the disappointing finish.
“We came out, and we were really upbeat in the dugout,” Hufstetler said. “We were hitting the ball. I thought we hit pretty well overall last night, and Taylor was pitching really well. I think we took our foot off the gas and let up a little bit and gave them the opportunity that they needed to kind of chip away and eventually take the lead.”
Taylor Long had a solid game on the mound, as she threw eight strikeouts in seven innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. Long also went 2-4 batting. Kelly Green went 1-3 with an RBI double.
The first game was all Coahulla Creek (22-5, 13-4), as the visitors earned a 5-0 victory. Coahulla Creek pitcher Sophia Voyles was the standout performer in the game, as she pitched a nohitter and threw 10 strikeouts in the shutout. Hufstetler shared her thoughts on the first game.
“I thought we warmed up well, but we came out and we were just flat,” she said. “We kind of dug ourselves a hole then decided to have some better at-bats and get back in the game, but it was just too little too late there at the end. I’m really proud of how they bounced back in game No. 2.”
As for the second game, the Lady Phoenix (14-8, 134) won a close thriller 3-2. The biggest moment of the game came in the sixth inning, as Springfield hit a double that scored Ava Lambert and Speach to put Sonoraville in the lead for the first time in the game. Hufstetler talked about how she felt in that moment.