Lady Braves down Blue Devils in Top-3 Clash

(Bremen, GA) — The top ranked Lady Braves traveled to Bremen Tuesday and came out on top in an important battle between two of the state’s top three Class AA softball teams.

The No. 1 ranked Lady Braves won the game 8-2 over the Blue Devils who entered the game as the No. 3 team in Class AA according to the Week 4 poll.

The crucial blow in the game for the Lady Braves came off the bat of sophomore Hannah Wright as she delivered a sharp 2-out double over the centerfielder’s head to drive home three runs break the game open in the top of the sixth inning.

“Hannah Wright had not hit in the last three or four games and we kind of thought it would be the right match-up there so she comes in being disciplined and knowing exactly what she was looking for and absolutely crushes the ball. It was just huge for us,” said head Coach Matt Hornsby after the game.

As has been the case all year, pitching and defense were key in the win that place the Lady Braves back in control of their own destiny for the chance to host region.

“I thought LilyRae Fulford was a little bit shaky early on leaving some balls over the plate but she got it fixed fairly quickly, and our defense kept us in the game,” Hornsby said.

Sophomore Lady Brave Hannah Wright (Photo: Tammy Bailey)

Fulford’s pinpoint control was once again he savior as she earned her team high 10th win of the season.

She allowed seven hits and did not walk a hitter while throwing just 59 pitches in her complete game effort. Only one of her runs allowed was earned.

The freshman pitcher has now walked just four batters in 70 innings of work this season.

In addition to Hannah Wright’s key hit, Mackenzie White launched her team high 7th homer of the season — a solo blast in the top of the 4th inning.

White was also stellar behind the plate picking a runner off first late and gunning down another runner trying to take an extra base.

The Lady Brave infield work has been solid all season and Tuesday was no exception as the girls turned two double plays to end scoring threats for the Devils.

Senior DP Alyssa Hall continued her solid work at the plate with two hits including a double and an RBI. Abigail Lathrop and Courtney Cannon also each drove home important runs.

“I thought today was as much of a team win as we’ve had all year,” Hornsby said. “Especially after you put yourself in a hole last week losing to Haralson County you had to win this game if you wanted any chance to host the region tournament. I thought after the second inning that was about the loosest our girls have ever played before in a game at Bremen.”

Janiyah Strong leads the team in hitting for the season with a .463 average and hits with 25. She has stolen six bases while driving home 15 runs.

Left fielder Courtney Cannon is batting a strong .438 with eight RBI’s and five steals.

White leads the squad in homer with seven and runs batted in with 22. Zekylah Boyd is tops on the team in steals for the season with eight. Emma Helton leads the team with 18 runs scored.

The Lady Braves will travel north this Saturday to take on Union County (2:00 PM) and Cherokee (4:00 PM) at the Twins Creek Complex located at 250 Brooke Blvd in Woodstock. Union and Cherokee will face one another at 6:00 PM in the three team round robin.

Tomorrow’s scheduled home game versus Central has been cancelled due to weather and school closure. The Lady Braves return to Region 5-AA action at home Tuesday versus Callaway.