Four straight victories for the Lady Raiders:
GDW Analysis:
GOOD HOPE: For the 2nd consecutive game, a Cullman County team challenged Good Hope softball until the final inning.
It was Holly Pond that went to battle with the Lady Raiders Tuesday.
Good Hope escaped with an 8 to 6 victory when the final out was recorded on a ground ball to 2nd as a runner was in scoring position at 3rd.
The Lady Raiders have gone 8 & 3 since they won the Cullman County championship three weeks ago in Vinemont.
Good Hope has won four straight and remains undefeated against county teams this season at 8 & 0.
Tim Tucker's Lady Raiders tallied a run in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd to gain a 3 to 0 lead with 7th grader Kylie Smith in the circle.
The youngster kept Holly Pond scoreless until the 4th when a wild pitch eluded the catcher and allowed Molly Neal to race in from 3rd. Neal started the inning with a double and moved up a base after a groundout from Ellie Burks.
Holly Pond set its sight on getting the game even in the 5th as four runs scampered home on five hits.
Run scoring singles came courtesy of Libby Stallings, Neal and Alivia Farr. The other run was on a passed ball that Maggie Nail sprinted home.
The game was now 5 to 5 heading to the last of the 5th.
Good Hope regained the lead on a 2 run double from Molly O'Neil bringing in Haley Lay and Natalie Miller. Alex Steed added a third run in the frame on a sac fly to center and an 8 to 5 Good Hope advantage.
Smith pitched well in the 6th, giving up a walk but having a strikeout, groundout to Lay at short and groundout to Carly Adams at first.
The Lady Broncos closed to 8 to 6 when Neal was safe on an error, moved to 3rd on a single by Burks. The run was a ground out to 1st by Farr with Burks now at 3rd as Tatum Abney was representing the tieing run.
She slapped a grounder to 2nd that was handled cleanly and this county battle ended at 6:10 p.m. The time of the game was 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Both teams end regular season play on Thursday.
Good Hope has Cold Springs visiting for a 4:30 p.m. start
Holly Pond goes to Mike Brown Memorial Field and takes on West Point at 5:30.
The Lady Raiders now have 17 wins on the season in 25 games, the best of the 7 teams that are in the Cullman County system.
Photo of Good Hope softball postgame Tuesday after victory over Holly Pond at Good Hope Field.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton
