Two extra-inning wins were on tap for the Dawson County Lady Tigers varsity softball team last week. Head Coach Jimmy Pruett and his team picked up an important Region 8A-AA win over East Hall on Tuesday, 1-0, and on Wednesday they came from behind to defeat Pickens, 4-3.
Jenna Abbott had a great week, not only from the pitcher's mound, but with her bat as well.
In both games it was the legs of Morgan Huber and the timely hitting of Abbott that helped the Lady Tigers pull off two extra-inning wins.
"When I got up to bat in the eighth, I told myself we are not going to lose this game," Abbott said.
East Hall was the first victim. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Morgan Huber on second due to the international tie breaker, Abbott hit a fly ball to left field that was missed by the East Hall left fielder and Huber scored from second.
Dawson County had runners in scoring position in the first five innings against East Hall.
The Lady Vikings defense made some great plays to keep the Lady Tigers off the board.
"They (East Hall) made great plays on defense. They were making diving catches and catching everything we put in play. That team has really gotten better," Pruett said.
Gracie Hovan with a single, Kimberly Wallace a double, and Abbott a double led the Lady Tigers offense.
Abbott dominated on the mound. The junior left-hander recorded a school record 19 strikeouts against East Hall. She struck out the first 11 Lady Viking hitters she faced to start the game. She allowed only one hit.
Pickens fell in much the same way Wednesday.
Huber, on second base due to the extra inning international tie breaker, crossed home plate once again on a rocket shot to right field off the bat of Abbott to score the winning run.
Martie Rogers was the starting pitcher against Pickens but a rash of illegal pitches and Lady Tigers errors led to a Lady Dragons 3-0 first inning lead.
Enter Abbott.
Abbott replaced Rogers with one out in the third inning with runners on first and second. The junior shut down Pickens' offensive attack. She allowed no hits while striking out eight batters to pick up the victory. Abbott is currently 8-1 on the season.
The Lady Tigers finally got on the scoreboard off Pickens pitcher Savannah Buck in the fifth inning.
Shortstop Samantha Moulder singled to left center and walks to Hovan and Taylor Shirley loaded the bases with no outs. After a pop out to third and a called strike three, Wallace hit a single to left field that scored Moulder and picked up an RBI.
It looked like Buck was tiring in the sixth inning. Abbott led off the inning with a hard hit ball to left center.
She scored, with one out, on a double by Moulder to right center that trimmed the Pickens' lead to 3-2.
A dropped third strike moved Moulder to third. The second dropped third strike on the next batter went to the back stop and Moulder scored, tying the game at 3-3.
Momentum was definitely in Dawson's favor.
It looked as if Dawson was going to pull out the victory in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Wallace launched a shot over the left fielder's head for an easy double, but she tried to advance to third on the play and was thrown out.
Pickens managed two hits in the contest off both Dawson pitchers. The Lady Tigers picked up seven hits.
Dawson County is currently 9-1 overall on the season and 2-0 in Region 8A-AA play.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Fannin County on Thursday. The team will then play in a tournament in Watkinsville Friday and Saturday before getting back to region play hosting Banks County Sept. 13.