Trifecta for Lady Red Foxes
Abbey Byrd, 8th grader for Hartsville Lady Red Foxes, hits a double in Friday night’s first game against North Augusts. PHOTO BY PHYLLIS CAPLES
Hartsville Senior Olivia Martin attempts to tag out a North Augusta player in Friday’s 4A Lower State Playoffs game. PHOTO BY PHYLLIS CAPLES
Senior Lady Red Fox Alyssa Poston makes contact in Friday’s game against North Augusta’s Yellow Jackets. PHOTO BY PHYLLIS CAPLES
By: Don Gearhart
The Hartsville Lady Red Foxes faced the Lady Bruins from South Florence in the Winner Bracket of the Lower State Championship play-off. During the regular season, the Lady Red Foxes won a pair of 2-1 decisions so why should this game be any different.
Larissa Siders opened the South Florence first inning by getting hit by a pitch. Keke Fulton promptly doubled her around the basepaths to give the Lady Bruins an early 1-0 lead. Hartsville evened the score in the fourth inning when Alyssa Poston got aboard on an error, stole second base, and scored on Kindon Dawson’s line drive single.
Hartsville threatened in the fifth inning when Sarah Watkins singled and pinch hitter EK Hudson delivered a base hit of her own but could not push a run across when the next two batters grounded into force outs.
Then, in the bottom of the seventh with the score still tied a 1-1, Watkins worked a one-out walk and Jamarria Pendergrass was put into run for her. An error on Jaysha McCullough’s grounder put runners on second and first. Myah Harvey worked the count and walked to load the bases with two outs. Olivia Martin became the hero when her game winning walk-off single provided Hartsville with yet another 2-1 victory over the Lady Bruins. Poston was the winning pitcher allowing just the one run on five hits while striking out nine batters. Payton Perry took the loss allowing only four hits.
Lower State Finals
North Agusta visited Hartsville in the Lower State Championship play-offs needing to win two games against Hartsville to advance to the State Championship. The contest was a classic between two stellar pitchers in North Agusta’s Katelyn Cochran and Hartsville’s Alyssa Poston.
Neither team seriously threatened in regulation and as the game entered the ninth inning, and second extra frame, that all changed. Extra inning rules allowed Cochran to be placed on second base to start the frame. A walk followed by a base hit loaded the bases for North Agusta. Audri Bates then walked to force in the first run of the game. Annabel Hurst drove in another run on a base hit, then with two outs, Kadence Adams walked to force in a third run heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Jaysha McCullough was placed on second to begin the inning. One out later, Olivia Martin put the Lady Red Foxes withing striking range with a two-run home run. Consecutive walks to Alyssa Poston and Caydon Thompson put the tying run on second with one out. Cochran was able to retire the next two batters to earn North Agusta a chance to claim the title with another win against Hartsville. Poston took the tough loss while giving up three runs on eight hits while striking out eight. Cochran got the win allowing two runs on just three hits while striking out fourteen batters. Abbey Byrd had two of Hartsville’s three hits with Martin’s homer the other hit.
If the first game was intense, the second game was a thriller. Hayden Hutto walk to start the bottom of the fourth for North Agusta in what was a scoreless game to that point. She moved to second on a fielder’s choice ad came around to score on a base hit from Reilly Howell. That run would hold up for a victory when North Agusta only managed one base runner after that. Kindon Dawson led off the Lady Red Foxes fifth with a base hit but could not advance In the sixth, Hartsville got a base hit from Olivia Martin and Alyssa Poston walked. Caydon Thompson fly ball to left hung up long enough for the fielder to record the third out, stranding the potential tying run. Sarah Watkins was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning with two outs but got stranded when Abbey Byrd’s line drive to center carried just far enough to get caught.
A very young Lady Red Foxes team ended the season with a 23-5 record and a promising look for next year. They will have to replace the center of the diamond as they lost Poston (pitcher), Martin (catcher) and Kaydon Dawson (center field) to graduation.