Lady Senators earn split over weekend
Published 7:31 am Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The Morgan Academy Lady Senators couldn’t overcome the Autauga Academy Lady Generals’ offense, as they fell 6-3 at home Saturday.
Jennifer Moore, head softball coach of Morgan Academy, said Autauga simply produced more on offense.
“We basically just got outhit,” Moore said. “They hit the ball in the gaps and we hit the ball straight to people. Our defense looked good, our infield looked great, our outfield looked better. We just got outhit.”
The Lady Senators trailed 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when they tallied their first run, as Lauren Yeldell hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed teammate Kendall Veach to score from third base and make the score 6-1.
Morgan scored again in the bottom of the seventh, as Veach hit a shot to right field that allowed two runners to score, making it 6-3.
But Autauga halted the comeback and sealed the victory.
Morgan 5, Monroe 4
A 4-0 deficit in the top of the fifth inning didn’t deter the Morgan Academy Lady Senators, as they came back to defeat the Monroe Academy Lady Volunteers 5-4 Saturday at home.
Moore said the Lady Senators (8-6) got over a rough start and were able to put their offense together.
“We just had to get through the first couple innings, and after that they started putting some hits together,” Moore said. “In the beginning, we were hitting straight to people but we finally got a hold of the ball and started putting hits together and scoring off of them.”
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Morgan got a spark when Laigon Godwin hit a two-run home run that made the score 4-2 and gave the Lady Senators some life.
Casey Baggett kept it going for Morgan when she doubled, driving in two more runs and tying the game 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
Caitlyn Wilkerson brought Baggett home, as she singled and gave Morgan a 5-4 lead.
But Monroe didn’t quit, as it put the potential tying run on third in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.
The Lady Senators made a routine play to get the first out of the final inning.
The Lady Volunteers popped up into the infield, but Morgan catcher Lauren Yeldell made a diving catch to get the second out and put Morgan one step closer to victory.
The Lady Volunteers had one more shot to force extra innings but Morgan pitcher Margaret Mims got the batter to pop up again, as first baseman Wilkerson made the catch and sealed the win.
Ed Miller, assistant softball coach of Morgan, said the team made some changes before the comeback, and while he said the Lady Senators still need to learn to put together a complete game, they’re showing improvement every time they take the field.
“We made some hitting adjustments during the game that helped,” Miller said. “We started attacking the ball instead of letting it come to us and we started hitting with a little power. We just encouraged them to keep fighting, and this team is improving every game.”