Softball maintains second place in region standings

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  • Evee Dornhecker connects for a two-run home run in Lumpkin’s loss to the East Hall Lady Vikings.
    Evee Dornhecker connects for a two-run home run in Lumpkin’s loss to the East Hall Lady Vikings.
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The LCHS varsity softball team maintained its hold on second place in the Region 7-AAA standings with a 6-2 region record after picking up a conference win over Dawson County before being beaten by first place East Hall last week.
The Lady Indians started the week with a conference matchup with their neighboring rivals Dawson County on Tuesday. Sept. 10, at the LCHS softball field.
Starting pitcher Lauren English put in a gem of a performance from inside the circle for the Lady Indians. English pitched a complete game and allowed just two Lady Tigers’ runs to score in her seven innings on the mound for Lumpkin while striking out seven.
Freshman Natalie Schubert came up huge offensively for the Lady Indians in the game when she skyrocketed a pitch over the wall in left field for a three-run hone run to put Lumpkin ahead 3-0.
The Lady Tigers answered right back with two runs of their own to cut the Lady Indians’ lead to 3-2. However, that would prove to be the only runs that English and the Lumpkin defense would give up in the ballgame.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hannah Pulley added an insurance run to put the final nail in Dawson’s coffin.
The combination of powerful pitching and offensive production allowed the Lady Indians to earn themselves a 4-2 victory against their region rival.
Lumpkin followed its game against the Lady Tigers by traveling to East Hall to face-off with Region 7-AAA’s top team on Thursday, Sept. 12.
The Lady Vikings came into the game undefeated in region play and in first place in the region standings while the Lady Indians came into the game with a 6-1 region record and in second place in the standings.
The battle between the two top teams in Region 7-AAA started with East Hall scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning off LCHS starter Natalie Robinson to take an early 2-0 advantage.
The Lady Indians were unable to answer back in the top of the second versus the Lady Vikings’ ace pitcher Macy Banks and watched East Hall’s lead grow to 5-0 when Ansley Ivey belted a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning with no outs.
After letting up the home run, Robinson settled down and retired the side without further damage.
Lumpkin finally got on to the scoreboard in the top of the third when Evee Dornhacker walloped a pitch over the wall in left field with Alyssa Pulley standing on first base. Dornhecker’s two-run shot cut the East Hall lead to 5-2.
The monster shot would prove to be the only runs the Lady Indians would score in the contest.
While the Lady Indians’ lineup struggled to get things going against Banks for the remainder of the game, Robinson kept Lumpkin close until the bottom of the sixth when East Hall scored another four runs. The Lady Vikings took advantage of two wild pitches and a two-run double to extend their lead to 9-2.
Pulley connected for a one out double down the left field line in the top of the seventh, but Banks wouldn’t allow another hit in the game and finished the Lady Indians off with a strikeout and a foul out to the catcher.
The final result was a 9-2 loss for Lumpkin, dropping the Lady Indians’ region record to 6-2 and their overall record to 12-8.
Despite the loss, the Lady Indians maintained their hold on second place in the Region 7-AAA standings in front of third place Cherokee Bluff, who is 5-3 in region play this season.