Hartselle falls to Cullman
Caleb Suggs
Hartselle Enquirer
Its been an up and down year for the Hartselle Lady Tigers so far. They have had to undergo some growing pains this season as they break in some young players and it has been especially apparent when it comes to hitting. Hartselle was hoping they could get it going when rival Cullman came to town.
Hope Cain would get the start on the mound for the Tigers. The first two innings featured lots of defense as the game had 12 straight outs to start. Cullman would get the offense going in the third inning with a home run to take the lead 1-0.
Hartselle would try to climb back in the game in the bottom of the third. Cain would single to get on base. Anna Stinson would then sacrifice, bunt Cain’s courtesy runner Rose Braun to second. However, Hartselle would strand Braun on base. Cullman would increase their lead in the fifth with another homerun to make the score 2-0.
Gracie Poe would single to start the bottom of the fifth and Taylor Spangler would come in to pinch run. Spangler would advance to second thanks to a sacrifice from Mary Jane Wooley and then to third on a wild pitch. However, once again the Tigers would strand a runner in scoring position as they trailed 2-0.
Cullman would load the bases in the bottom of the sixth, putting Hartselle in deep trouble. However, Cain would manage to work her way out and escape the inning without any damage.
Cullman would improve their lead to 3-0 in the seventh after a third home run. Hartselle wouldn’t be able to come back and would fall 3-0. Cain would finish with 19 first pitch strikes and 5 strikeouts.
Hartselle would try to redeem themselves as they traveled to James Clemons the next day. Kalli Cartee would put Hartselle on the board first 1-0 to start the game. However, the Tigers would struggle in the bottom of the first as they allowed 4 runs to fall behind 4-1. It would get worse as they fell to 6-1 after the third inning. Hartselle lost the game 8-2.