Avery’s softball squads are continuing to play “catch up” as they are finally able to take advantage of the warm, dry weather to practice outdoors and improve in areas that need strength.Last Thursday afternoon, the ladies traveled to
The varsity teams opened play in what began as a close affair. Mountain Heritage took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings of play, but the Lady Vikings bounced back in the third. Brooke Buchanan started the rally with a base hit, and advanced around the bases to score on an RBI single from Amber Clark to make the score 3-1.
Unfortunately for the Big Red, the Lady Cougars quelled the rally, then roared ahead to score 12 runs over the next two innings. A combination of timely hitting and help from the Lady Vikings defense helped Heritage to seize control.
“We made several defensive errors that cost us some runs early on. We need to work on taking the easier out and being poised defensively and not panicking when we have runners on base,” Avery softball coach Stephen Bunger said following the contest. “Overall, we were much improved we've just got to get over the mental hump.”
Despite the defeat, the Lady Vikings continue to display signs of improvement individually and as a team.
A number of Lady Vikings safely reached base in the contest. Kaylea Davis, Justina Rieger, Jessica Banner, and Beth Lewis each provided base runners in the game.
Another factor that may very well played a part in determining the outcome was health. Several Lady Vikings were suffering from flu-like symptoms. Starting catcher Haley Hicks became ill and was replaced during the game by Charley Puckett. The junior varsity standout stepped up for Avery in her first varsity action of the year and made several strong plays, including throwing out a runner at third base and making solid contact while hitting at the plate.
“Overall I thought we played well. We hit the ball a lot better and we fought hard. We got some runners on base and threatened to score, but couldn't quite get them home,” Coach Bunger said. “We were patient at the plate and drew several walks, but we stranded four runners. We hit the ball better and showed signs of improvement, but we made several defensive errors that cost us some runs early on. We need to work on taking the easier out and being poised defensively and not panicking when we have runners on base. But credit Mountain Heritage, because while we played better, they took advantage of the errors that we did make.”
The second half of the twin bill was a matchup pitting the junior varsity teams of both schools. Avery’s junior varsity squad has continued to improve from its early outings on the season, but could not find an answer for the aggressiveness of the Heritage offense.
“The JV played well. We hit the ball and were patient at the plate, but Mountain Heritage was aggressive on the base paths with several steals and we couldn't get our coverage right at first so that put runners in scoring position for them,” Coach Bunger said of the game. “They took advantage of the passed balls and some throwing errors we made.”
Brittney Brewer got the starting nod in the circle for Avery and both she and the team improved steadily as the game transpired. “Brittney got into some trouble early, but settled down in the last three innings with minimal damage. She had three strikeouts on the game,” Bunger stated.
Nikki Wright had the big hit of the day with a double that rolled to the fence, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
“We put some runners on base throughout the game but couldn't get many of them home,” Bunger said. “Only one runner, Sarah Carter, scored for the lone run of the game. Mountain Heritage did what they needed to do to score and they are well coached. Overall, I thought we were improved from the last few games, showing determination, patience at the plate, and we brought some runners home. We are improving and we will continue to work hard in practice. We have home games coming up and we will work hard to be ready to play.”
The Lady Vikings have this week off, but return to the diamond to host Mitchell on Tuesday, April 13th.
