No. 8 Belgreen downs Vina, falls to Waterloo

By Staff
Kim West
MUSCLE SHOALS – No. 8 Belgreen easily defeated Vina 10-0 in the opening game of the Class 1A, Area 16 tournament Monday morning but fell to Waterloo 4-3 in the afternoon game.
In the first game, Loren McVicker, who went five innings and struck out nine, hit a two-run double to score Deborah Billingham and Martha Billingham and Lauren Oliver hit a sacrifice fly to bring in McVicker and give Belgreen a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Emily Watts drove in Katy Britton in the second inning, while Deborah Billingham was hit by a pitch and scored on a passed ball, Oliver had an RBI single and Katelin Barber hit an RBI single in the third to increase the lead to 7-0.
Amber Smith and Martha Billingham each scored in the fourth and McVicker had an RBI single to score Sara McMahan in the fifth to end the game.
Jesse Norwood, who took the loss on the mound, singled for Vina, while Dannie Leigh Ozbirn, Claudia Townsend and Emily Davidson each walked.
Against Waterloo, the Lady Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first when Oliver stroked an RBI single to score Deborah Billingham but the Lady Cougars answered and tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second.
Belgreen reclaimed the lead in the third as McVicker drove in Smith, who reached on a walk, and Deborah Billingahm scored on a wild pitch.
But the Lady Bulldogs went scoreless over the final four innings as Waterloo pushed across three runs in the sixth thanks to two errors and RBIs from Carrie Parrish, who went 3-for-3, and Kayla Burns.
Martha Billingham took the loss for Belgreen (15-9) despite allowing only two earned runs and six hits while striking out five with three walks.