Lady Braves notch crucial win in Region 5-AA opener

Pictured above is the 2020 Lady Brave junior class. (Front): Abigail Lathrop (Back L-R): Courtney Cannon, Zekylah “Z” Boyd, Brianna Hill, Emma Helton, Mackenzie White, and Janiyah Strong

(Franklin, GA) — The Lady Braves softball team earned an important 6-3 home win over arch rival Bremen Wednesday to open the Region 5-AA portion of the 2020 schedule.

The win improves the Lady Braves season record to 5-0 and most importantly gives Coach Matt Hornsby’s squad an early win over one of the best Class AA teams in the state.

Bremen entered the game as the No. 2 team in Class AA according to the AJC’s initial rankings published earlier this month. The Lady Braves were ranked No. 6 in the initial poll but will likely move up in the next poll following several quality wins early this season.

Freshman pitcher LilyRae Fulford continued her winning ways on the mound Tuesday tossing all seven innings while earning her fifth win in as many starts.

She scattered six hits while allowing just a single earned run in Tuesday’s game and once again did not walk a batter. Fulford has not walked a batter this season.

Offensively, junior catcher Mackenzie White led the way with a homer and two RBI’s while junior first baseman Abigail Lathrop was the only player in the lineup to log multiple hits. Lathrop went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Emma Helton doubled, scored a run and stole a base. Zekylah Boyd had a nice game with two steals, a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Alyssa Hall and Courtney Cannon also recorded base hits in the win.

The Lady Braves will return to non-region play tomorrow when they host Class AAAAA Northside of Columbus at 6PM at HCHS before traveling to Callaway Tuesday to meet the Cavaliers in game two of the region slate.

The junior varsity squad will host “Heard County JV Day” Saturday in Franklin in a round robin that will also feature East Coweta, Villa Rica, and Harris County. The JV Lady Braves will play at 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM in the all day event.