Cullman SB closes out March schedule by beating West Morgan:

Four run 1st inning guides the Lady Bearcats to victory:

GDW Analysis:
Hitting the ball well to start their game Monday, Cullman softball took down West Morgan 5 to 3 at Cullman High School.
Four runs were produced in the Cullman 1st inning. That would be the momentum the Lady 'Cats would carry for the rest of the way, despite a rally attempt by West Morgan in the 7th.
For Cullman in the last of the first, a leadoff double from Abby Maples would be followed by an RBI single off the bat of Hattie Graham and a 1 to 0 lead.
Sam Johnson was safe on a fielding error then the key blast in the frame came on a 3 run homer by Reese Hopper.
Her homer made it 4 to 0.
Cullman was unable to extend the lead when Graham was tagged out at home plate in the 3rd trying to score on a wild pitch.
Johnson doubled to get into scoring position, but the inning ended with Hopper striking out and Jessica McBrayer's squad not able to increase their advantage against the 4A school from Morgan County.
In the Cullman 5th, Maples had a single, stole 2nd and got to 3rd on a wild pitch.
Graham grounded to first in which Maples sprinted home and a 5 to 0 advantage for the Lady 'Cats.
Kynlei Storey was doing well in the circle, keeping West Morgan scoreless for four and a third innings.
Storey avoided trouble in the 1st when a double play was executed by the Cullman infield to end the inning.
Storey struck out the side in the 2nd and was no hitting the Lady Rebels until they collected a double in the 3rd.
A strikeout and a fly out put away West Morgan at the time.
McBrayer brought in her sister Summer Storey with one out in the 5th.
The Lady Rebels got runners in scoring position. The inning was done on a fly out with Cullman clinging to a 5 run advantage.
West Morgan used a double and a couple of wild pitches in the 6th to get on the scoreboard.
In the 7th, the Lady Rebels managed two runs on five hits and had two runners aboard when a fly ball to left ended the game at 6:23 p.m.
The game was played in 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Maples had one hit and scored twice for Cullman.
Hopper's 3 run blast led them in run production.
Graham delivered 2 runs batted in on a single and a ground out.
The Lady 'Cats will go for a 2nd victory in as many days when Arab visits Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Photo of Cullman Lady Bearcats Presley Burden (25), Reese Hopper (9) and Hattie Graham (15) warming up before Monday's game at home against West Morgan.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.