Valdosta Wildcats Softball
2008 Game Summaries
Vikettes rally for 3-1 win
Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: September 23, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — With Winnersville pride and a region softball victory on the line, Lowndes’ seniors came through.
Sarah Santana tied the score with an RBI single, then Morgan Harris blasted a two-run home run over the center field fence, giving Lowndes a 3-1 win over crosstown rival Valdosta Tuesday at the Morris-Coats Field of Dreams.
The win gave Lowndes (15-4-1) a regular season sweep of the Lady Wildcats. But more importantly, it improved the Vikettes’ Region 1-AAAAA record to 5-0.
“This is a big win for us, to beat our crosstown rival, and get a region win,” Lowndes head coach Jared Dickey said.
Early on, Valdosta pitcher Aysia Reed was dominant, striking out eight batters in the first four innings, and the Lady Wildcats held a 1-0 lead. But then the fifth inning came around, and the Vikettes’ four experienced seniors stepped up.
Sadee Scarborough led off the fifth with an infield single, and was sacrificed to second by Dionne Bishop. That brought Santana to the plate, and the senior catcher drove a pitch up the middle for a base hit. Scarborough raced around third and slid in ahead of the tag at home, tying the score. Santana took second on the throw.
That brought Harris to the plate. Reed started her off with two pitches out of the strike zone. Then she threw a pitch down the middle, and Harris ripped it to deep center field. The ball disappeared behind the fence, giving the Vikettes a 3-1 lead.
“When the count went to 2-0, I made up my mind that I was swinging at the next pitch,” Harris said. “The pitch was down the middle, and I hit it.”
Lowndes pitcher Ashley Chapman took care of the rest. The freshman right-hander, who has gone to the circle in most of Lowndes’ biggest games this year, retired the next six batters, and closed out the win. She allowed just four hits and struck out five.
“Aysia came out and pitched well, and Chappy matched her pitch-for-pitch,” Dickey said. “She did an excellent job. She pitched a four-hitter, and there were four innings where she set them down three-up, three-down. They never got a runner to second after the second inning. She’s really starting to come around.”
Valdosta took the early lead with a run in the top of the first. Kristin Gill led off the game with a single to right, and was sacrificed to second by Amanda Smith. One out later, Courtney Merritt singled to right, and Gill crossed the plate to give the Lady Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Lowndes put two runners on with two outs in both the second and third innings, but each time Reed struck out the next batter to kill the rally. The Vikettes got a runner to second with one out in the fourth, but Reed struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
But then came the fifth, and Lowndes finally broke through.
“It felt good to win, being my senior year,” Harris said, after winning her last regular season game against Valdosta.
The win was huge for the Vikettes in the region standings. Lowndes is tied for first with Warner Robins at 5-0. The two teams play on Oct. 3 at Morris-Coats, in a game that will essentially be for the regular season region title.
“To be 5-0 at least guarantees us first or second, I believe,” Dickey said. “Everybody has at least two losses except us and Warner Robins.”
Dickey showed a lot of respect to the Lady Wildcats, who have given the Vikettes several battles over the past few seasons.
“Valdosta’s got a good ballclub, especially the way Aysia’s pitching. Don’t count them out,” he said.
Harris went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the win. She and teammate Brittany Corbitt were the only players with more than one hit.
Lowndes hosts Colquitt County on Senior Night at 5:45 p.m. next Tuesday.
Lowndes High's Ashley Chapman (15) pitches against Valdosta High Tuesday afternoon at Lowndes High's Morris-Coats Field of Dreams.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
VHS scores nine in first two, cruises to victory
Author: Adam MacDonald
Publication Date: September 19, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Senior Night will be a night to remember for the Valdosta High Lady Wildcats (11-8, 2-2).
All four Lady Wildcat seniors — Aysia Reed, Jordan Theis, Courtney Merritt and Kristin Gill — contributed in a 9-0 win over Coffee Thursday night. The game was called after the top of the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
“The girls just came out swinging the bat and hitting the ball,” Valdosta head coach Adam Haire said. “Coffee had some trouble fielding the ball tonight and we took advantage of it. When you put nine up in the first two innings, you’re satisfied.”
The Lady ’Cats scored five runs on three hits and were helped by three Lady Trojan errors in the first inning.
Gill started the inning with a walk and was driven in on an RBI single by Merritt.
Reed hit a rocket through the shortstop’s legs to knock in the second run of the inning.
Later in the first, Inde Harrington hit a two-run single that scored Reed and Theis, making it 5-0 Valdosta.
The Lady ’Cats continued to pound the ball in the second. The four-run second inning was capped off by Reed’s two-run triple.
“It felt good. It’s about time,” Reed said. “I had confidence in myself.”
At the end of the second it was 9-0 Valdosta. That’s all the Lady ’Cats would need.
Reed pitched all five innings, giving up no runs, one hit and striking out 10 of the 16 batters she faced. At one point, she struck out six in a row and eight out of nine.
“Every pitch was working tonight,” Reed said. “The change-up was looking really good, the screwball, the curve and the drop ball all worked, too.”
The game lasted only 57 minutes.
“It’s amazing,” Theis said. “Just winning 9-0 on Senior Night and going out with a bang is great.”
It was especially sweet for the four seniors who are making the most of their last season by contending in the region.
“We have really good team chemistry,” Merritt said. “When we need to come together, we come together. We’re all really good friends. I expect us to play like we did tonight for the rest of the season.”
The dominant victory was just what the Lady Wildcats were looking for heading into the home stretch with region games against Lowndes, Tift County and Houston County still remaining.
“Any time you win in region, hopefully the momentum can carry over,” Haire said.
“Winning is definitely contagious,” Theis added. “This is the third game in a row that we’ve won, and it’s definitely going to carry us over to Tuesday against Lowndes.”
Valdosta’s next game is at Lowndes on Tuesday. First pitch is at 5:45 p.m.
Valdosta High's Kristin Gill (2) tags out a Coffee High player before she reaches second at VHS Thursday evening.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta softball defeats Colquitt, 2-0
Reed pitches six-hit shutout, Smith's two-run single gives Lady Wildcats a win
Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: September 16, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Amanda Smith’s two-run single in the bottom of the fifth broke a scoreless tie and gave Valdosta High’s softball team a 2-0 victory over Colquitt County Monday.
With one out in the fifth, Inde Harrington was hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Kristin Gill sent a ball to right field that went just out of the reach of Colquitt right fielder Caitlin Carr. Pinch runner Haley Emmons went to third, while Gill took second with a double.
That brought Smith to the plate. The Valdosta first baseman lined a pitch back up the middle, just over the head of Colquitt pitcher Christy Harper and just out of the reach of the shortstop and second baseman. Emmons scored, then Gill raced around third and beat the throw home, giving the Lady Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
“We had runners on, and I knew I had to get them in,” Smith said. “She threw a pitch down the middle, and I just hit it. I did my job.”
That was all the support Valdosta pitcher Aysia Reed would need. Reed retired nine of the last 10 Colquitt hitters, and closed out a six-hit shutout. The senior right-hander struck out four and did not walk any batters.
“It feels good (to pitch a shutout),” Reed said.
“With No. 12 (Reed) out there, a lot of my concerns are gone,” Valdosta head coach Adam Haire said. “She makes the game a lot easier for us.”
The win improves Valdosta’s record to 9-8. The Lady Wildcats travel to Moultrie for a rematch with Colquitt today. Monday’s game was not a region game, but Tuesday’s will be.
“It’s good to get a victory like that when you’re not playing your best ball,” Haire said. “You’re never upset about a win. We’re right there. We haven’t peaked yet, which is good. We’re climbing that mountain, the girls are working hard and we’ll get there.”
For most of the game, it was a scoreless duel between Reed and Harper. Both teams had their chances to score, but until Smith came through in the fifth, neither one could get the big hit.
Valdosta got runners in scoring position in both the first and the third innings, but came away empty. Then in the fourth, back-to-back singles by Leslie Brandon and Courtney Merritt put two runners on with no outs. But again, they couldn’t score.
But at the same time, Reed was keeping the Lady Packers off the scoreboard.
Colquitt threatened in the bottom of the third. Carr, Meagan May and Maggie Davidson singled, loading the bases with two outs. But Reed got Kaley Clark to ground out to second, and Valdosta escaped.
Colquitt again threatened in the top of the fifth. Jana Harvin led off with a single to right, and moved to third on two ground outs. But Reed again made the big pitch, and got May to ground out to second for the third out.
“I have confidence in my defense, and I know they’ll back me up,” Reed said. “You’ve got to stay calm and not panic, and that’s what we did.”
“She had to rely on her defense, and she knew that,” Haire said. “You’ve got to be pleased with a pitcher who is that aware.”
Outside of those two innings, Colquitt didn’t get a runner past first base. No Colquitt hitter had multiple hits. Harper also allowed six hits and struck out four.
Gill and Merritt had two hits apiece for Valdosta.
Valdosta High’s Aysia Reed delivers a pitch during the Lady Wildcats’ 2-0 victory over Colquitt County Monday. Reed pitched a six-hit shutout for Valdosta.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta High’s Amanda Smith hits a two-run single in the fifth inning Monday. Smith's hit scored the only two runs of the game.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta beats Lady Devils
Reed limits Tift to four hits in 3-1 VHS victory
Author: Adam MacDonald
Publication Date: September 10, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Timely hitting and great pitching is the recipe the Valdosta High Lady Wildcats used to beat Tift County 3-1 Tuesday night.
Lady ’Cats starting pitcher Aysia Reed pitched a complete game four-hitter. She struck out three, walked one and induced 15 ground ball outs. The lone Lady Blue Devils run was unearned.
“The dropball was the main pitch I was working. It’s probably the best that it’s ever worked before,” Reed said. “The curveball and the screwball were working, too.”
“She does what she always does. She stays in the game, she throws her pitches and she controls the flow of the game,” Valdosta head coach Adam Haire said.
Valdosta (8-8, 0-2) got on the board in the third inning against Tift starter Rachel Segers. Shelby Sharp led off with an infield single, and after back-to-back strikeouts, moved to third on Kristin Gill’s base hit.
Amanda Smith then hit a fly ball to left field, but the Tift outfielder got turned around and the ball fell in, scoring Sharp and Gill to make it 2-0 Lady ’Cats.
“I was swinging for the fences, and I had a runner on third, and I had to get her home,” Smith said. “It felt like I got a bunch of weight off my shoulders, because I knew I had to do a job and get some runs on the board, and I did it.”
The Lady Wildcats tacked on a another run in the fifth when Gill doubled home Jordan Theis, who slid in safely just ahead of the tag to make it 3-0.
“(Segers) threw a lot outside, and I knew that, so I took the pitch the other way,” Gill said. “That’s what you have to do with runners on.”
All three runs scored by the Lady ’Cats came with two outs.
“All year long, we’ve preached two-out hits,” Haire said. “If you get two-out hits, a ballgame can never end. The girls have been buying into it.”
Tift scored on an error in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Lady Blue Devils had a chance to tie the game in the seventh inning with the tying run on second base and one out, but Haire came out to talk with Reed. The two had a laugh, and that seemed to break the tension.
Reed went on to get the final two batters to ground harmlessly back to her.
“I had 100 percent confidence. There’s not much to say to her; she knows,” Haire said.
It was the second straight loss for the Lady Devils in Lowndes County in 24 hours. They lost to Lowndes, 4-3 in eight innings, Monday night.
Next up for the Lady ’Cats is Colquitt County at 5:45 p.m. next Monday in Valdosta.
“We haven’t caught a few breaks, but tonight we did,” Haire said. “These girls are doing a great job of listening and buying into our system.”
Valdosta High's Jordan Theis (4) slides into home plate ahead of the tag from Tift County catcher Rebecca Johnson Tuesday afternoon at Valdosta High.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta High's Keyuana Evans (5) slides safely into second base, as Tift County shortstop Kelly Redlinger applies the tag Tuesday afternoon at Valdosta High School.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta High pitcher Aysia Reed (12) winds up against Tift County Tuesday afternoon at Valdosta High School. Reed limited Tift to four hits in a 3-1 victory.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Vikettes outduel Lady Wildcats in extra-inning slugfest
Author: Adam MacDonald
Publication Date: September 5, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — The best game in town Thursday night was not played on the football field. It was the hard-fought, extra-inning battle between the Vikettes (6-3-1) and Lady Wildcats (5-3) on the softball field.
The two rivals met Thursday in a non-region game at Valdosta High and put on a show for the fans in attendance. Lowndes won the game 9-8 in eight innings, but the game could have gone either way.
“It was kind of like those big prize fights, both of them throwing blows, and nobody can put anybody away,” Lowndes head coach Jared Dickey said. “Both teams kept hanging around, finding ways to score runs. We just got lucky, and we’re still standing. It rolled our way a couple more times than it rolled their way.”
The Vikettes jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third inning, but the Lady ’Cats clawed their way back into the game, scoring three runs in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, it looked like the Lady ’Cats were going to add more, but pitcher Bridgette Walker lined into a double play to end the threat.
“We were on a roller coaster ride,” Valdosta head coach Adam Haire said. “At the beginning of the game, we were down to our lowest point, and we slowly started to build up that mountain. We have to realize that we’re in every single game, and we have to keep battling.”
Walker was in the center of the action all night. She battled through 6.2 innings in the circle. After falling behind 5-0, she kept her team in the game until her arm couldn’t hold up any more with two outs in the top of the seventh.
“(Walker) wasn’t feeling it,” Haire said. “I think her arm was hurting her tonight, but she wanted the ball and wanted to stay out there, and she didn’t tell me (about her arm). Finally I didn’t think she could take it anymore.”
Lowndes took advantage in the top of the seventh, stretching a one-run lead to 7-4, before heading into the home half of the final inning of regulation.
The Lady Wildcats had no quit in them though. The first two runners reached base in the bottom of the seventh, then Aysia Reed hit the game’s only extra-base hit, a double, to cut the lead to 7-5. With runners on second and third with no outs, Amanda Smith grounded out to second, driving in a run. With one out and trailing by one with the tying run on third, Shelby Sharp grounded the ball back to pitcher Morgan Harris, who checked the runner at third and threw to first for the second out. With two outs and the tying run still at third, Harris threw a wild pitch, the sixth of the game for the Vikettes, and that allowed the tying run to score.
“We scored several on wild pitches, and so did they,” Dickey said. “Usually both catchers and all the pitchers are accurate, but it’s something that happens. It’s part of the game.”
The Vikettes got out of the seventh without any more damage and the two teams headed for extra innings.
In the eighth, each team starts with a runner on second base, due to the tiebreaker rule. This time, it was the Lady Wildcats that were burned by wild pitches. Reed threw a wild pitch to advance the runner from second to third, then threw another wild pitch on ball four to Megan Rewis to allow the runner from third to come in and score.
Rewis went on to score later in the top of the eighth on a passed ball to give Lowndes a 9-7 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Lady Wildcats managed to push their free runner at second across the plate after a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, but the productive outs didn’t produce base runners. Harris recorded a pop out to finish the game and get the win.
“We went down 7-4 and our defense shuts them down and our offense puts three on the board. You can’t ask for anything else out of a group of girls like that,” Haire said.
The two teams will meet again on Sept. 23 at Lowndes, and that game will count in the region.
“I’m always happy to get a win,” Dickey said. “I just wish this one counted in the region. I kind of hate that it didn’t. It still feels good, though.”