ABS and Ardmore advance in substate

From staff reports

May 07, 2008 10:09 pm

— The Area 15 champion Athens Bible School Lady Trojans hosted the runner-up of Area 12 the Lady Raiders from Marion County Tuesday and took two of three games to advance in the state softball playoffs.
In the first game, ABS took a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning, but Marion County plated three runs in the top half of the 7th inning to take a 4-3 lead and would win the first game of the three game series.
Abbie Melvin took the loss, but did not give up an earned run allowing only four hits with four strikeouts. The Lady Trojans committed only three errors but Marion County capitalized on every error.
Allie McCurry was the clutch hitter in the first game with a double that drove in two runs and a sacrifice fly that drove in the third run. Katie Eubanks had two hits and scored a run, Emily Irwin had a double and scored a run and Chelsea Burgess had a single and scored a run. Abbie Melvin and Kerri Pender also had hits in the first game.
Down one game and their backs against the wall, the Lady Trojans would rebound with a 15-2 win in the second game.
Melvin faced 29 batters allowing only two runs on five hits.
The Lady Trojans didn’t spend much time taking control of the second game plating six runs in the second inning while batting around. ABS added two more runs in the fourth and another run in the fifth with a 9-2 lead going into the top of the seventh. The Lady Trojans plated another six runs in the seventh.
Allie McCurry led the hitting with three hits and four RBIs. Emily Butler had two hits with a double and three RBIs. Haley Chittam also had two hits and three RBIs. Katie Eubanks, Melvin and Chittam had two hits and one RBI each. Kerri Pender added another hit with an RBI.
In the third game, Marion County scored first plating two runs in the top of the second inning. ABS would answer in the bottom half of the inning with a run after a double by Chittam. Pender bunted for a base hit and Chittam scored on the throw.
After a scoreless top half of the third inning, the Lady Trojans led off the bottom half of the third with three straight hits with a lead off single to left center by McCurry followed by a single to left by Melvin. Christina Ivey just missed a three-run homer hitting a double off the left field fence scoring both Allie and Stefanie McClure who went in for Abbie as a courtesy runner. Chittam reached on a walk and singled to center scoring Ivey. Emily Irwin hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Chittam.
The Lady Raiders scored another run in the fifth inning after a double by Robertson and an RBI single by Smith. ABS answered with two runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Pender singled, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Haley Chittam who reached on an error. Malone, who went in to courtesy run for Pender, scored on the errant throw to first that ended up in right field. Chelsea Burgess bunted for a hit followed by an RBI sacrifice by Irwin. ABS added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when McCurry led off with a single to left and scored on a triple to left center by Brooke Chittam.

Ardmore sweeps
Ardmore beat Central-Florence 2-7 and 5-1 to advance to the second round.
Ardmore scored three in the third when Nikki Clark led off with a walk, Brittany Brown singled, Kelsey Turner reached on a fielder choice and then Callie Steadman batted in a run with a single, followed by a Arika Boggs two RBI single.
Ardmore scored six more runs in the fourth inning on hits by Callie Bryant, Turner, Steadman, Kelsey Gilbert, and a sac fly by Boggs.
The Lady Tigers added three more runs in the fifth on a hit by ?Brown.
Kasey Steadman pitched and struck out eight.
In the nightcap, Ardmore’s Turner walked, Steadman reached on a fielders choice and Steadman and Boggs singled to drive in a run.
It stayed that way until the fourth inning when Ardmore plated three more runs on a double by Clark and singles by Brittany Brown and Turner and a triple by Steadman.
Ardmore got its fifth run in the fifth when Gilbert doubled and Bryant singled.
Boggs pitched and got the win. She allowed only six hits.
Ardmore will play at home Friday at 3 p.m. against Cherokee County in the best of a three game series.

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