Belgreen softball advances to regionals

By Bart Moss

For the FCT

For the second straight year the Belgreen Bulldogs have won the 1A Area 15 softball championship. They will advance to the regionals in Huntsville this weekend and face Woodville in the opening game.

Belgreen defeated Covenant Christian in the opening game 18-3. Mackenzie Anglin pitched a no-hitter and struck out three. Belgreen carried a 7-3 lead into the third inning before breaking the game open, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the third inning. Allyson Bragwell went 3-for-3 with a double and a single. Krista Sikes went 2-for-3 with two singles. Emmie Scott went 1-for-2 with a single and two walks. Anglin went 3-for-4. Katie Dempsey went 2-for-3 with two singles.  Every Bulldog scored in the game.

In the championship game, Belgreen defeated Waterloo 10-3. Sikes was the winning pitcher, striking out eight batters and allowing only five hits. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first inning, two runs in the fifth inning and three runs in the sixth inning to secure the win. Kaycee Wilson came up big for the Bulldogs, going 2-for-3 with two triples at key points in the game.  Sikes went 3-for-3 with a triple and two singles. Courtney Williams went 2-for-4 with a double and a single.

Belgreen carries a 23-18-1 record into the regionals. They went 9-0 in their area. Over the course of the last two seasons, Belgreen is 17-1 in area play and has outscored area opponents 43-10. Belgreen has averaged 11.4 runs per game over the last five games, which has coach Chris Scott feeling confident going into regional play.

“If we can continue to hit the ball like we have lately and play well on defense, I believe these girls can punch their ticket to state,” said Scott.  “We are a young team, but they have faced a lot of tough competition this season, and I believe they will be up to the challenge.”