Red Bay advances to Round 2
By Staff
Lady Tigers defeat Westminster Christian 16-4 in Game 3
Kim West
k.west@fct.wpengine.com
RED BAY – The Red Bay softball team pummeled Westminster Christian 16-4 in the deciding Game 3 Monday as the Lady Tigers won the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs Tuesday.
Area 16 champion Red Bay won the opener 10-0 but Westminster Christian, the Area 14 runner-up, forced a Game 3 by winning the second game 8-2.
In the opener, Red Bay broke a scoreless tie with six runs as Holly Hammock and Ashley Hardin each scored and Kristin Sharp, Ashley Fame and Emily Cox each had RBI doubles.
The Lady Tigers went ahead 10-0 in the fourth inning when Kirstin Sharp drove in two runs, Whitney Sharp and Cox each had run-scoring singles and Kirstin Sharp had a bases-loaded steal to end the game via the mercy rule.
Whitney Sharp, who struck out nine and allowed only one hit, led Red Bay at the plate with three hits, while Cox, Frame, Kirstin Sharp and Hardin each had two hits.
In the second game, Red Bay took an early 1-0 lead but Westminster Christian pushed across four runs in the second and one in the fourth to lead 5-1.
The Lady Tigers cut the gap to 5-2 on an inside-the-park home run by Hannah Sharp in the top of the fifth but Westminster Christian added a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to win 8-2.
In Game 3, Lauren Williams singled home Cox in the first to put Red Bay ahead 1-0.
The Lady Tigers scored four more runs in the top of fourth and added eight runs in the sixth before Westminster Christian cut the lead to 12-4 with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
In the seventh inning, Hammock and Whitney Sharp each had RBI triples, while Frame had a run-scoring double and Cox singled to drive in a run to end the game.
The Lady Tigers finished with 18 hits in seven innings as Williams and Frame each had four hits, while Hammock, Hardin, Kristin Sharp and Hannah Sharp added two hits apiece.
Whitney Sharp pitched the Game 1 and Game 3 victories, while Emily Cox took the loss in the second game.
Red Bay will play at No. 2 Ider today at 2 p.m. in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the state tournament May 16-17 at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.
