Central opened by shutting out Bowdon, 7-0, then capped off the evening with a 9-2 win over Temple, pitting it with fellow pool play winners Rockmart, Heritage and Ridgeland today.
Ciara Wood and Brandy Todd both went 2-for-3 to lead the Lady Lions offensively against Bowdon, while Anna Parker went 3-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs in providing the pop against Temple.
“We played pretty well in stretches, and then we still made some little mistakes we don’t need to make to be a real good team,” Robinson said. “But we swung the bats pretty well, I thought, as a whole. We ran the bases pretty well. So overall for the first two games of the year, I’m pretty pleased with it.”
The other five local teams all split on Friday, as the host Lady Wildcats bounced back from a 3-0 setback to Ridgeland with a 4-0 triumph over Troup, led by hurler Tangela Norman, who allowed just two hits and struck out 11 in six innings of work.
VR coach Terri Lynn Valentine said her senior rose to the occasion when her team needed it Friday.
“She comes in when we need her,” Valentine said. “Tangela has really stepped it up. She’s taking her role as a senior, and she’s performing on the mound. I’m proud of her.”
The Lady Wildcats will battle Carrollton, Bowdon and Haralson County in the Silver Division today.
Carrollton began the day with a 4-3 win over Heritage, but was no-hit in its opening-day finale against LaGrange, where errors hurt the Lady Trojans defensively in the 3-0 setback.
“Well, the first game we played pretty good. We put the ball in play, and they made some errors. And we took advantage of those errors,” Phillips said. “In the second game, we made some errors. They get a little bloop hit and we let it get by us. And it accounted for two of the three runs that way.”
Bowdon rebounded from the shutout loss to Central by topping Temple, 11-3, despite getting just three hits in the contest. Lady Tiger errors created plenty of run-scoring opportunities for the Red Devilettes. Megan Williams led Bowdon offensively, getting two hits against Central and one against Temple.
The biggest concern for Bowdon coach Ralph Sanders, though, is the health of senior shortstop Jessie Whitlock, who had to leave the first game after diving for a ball and rolling her wrist.
“Hopefully she can get over that pretty quick,” Sanders said.
Haralson County shut out Douglas County in its opener, 4-0, as Kristina Coggins got the win, working six innings of two-hit ball with four strikeouts. Ciera Champion led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3.
Champion also had a solid effort offensively in the Rebelettes’ 6-1 loss to Rockmart, as she and Jamie Abruzzino both went 2-for-2.
HC coach Lisa Warren said she likes what she sees from her team early in the season.
“The biggest thing right now is to build confidence,” Warren said. “I think we’ve got a good team, chemistry-wise. It’s probably the best chemistry that we’ve had in the three years that I’ve been here. So I look forward for a good day (Saturday).”
For first-year Temple coach Larry Weaver, despite getting a pair of setbacks on Friday, he saw plenty of things to build on.
Taylor Luke led the way offensively against Bowdon, going 2-for-2, while Katie Thomas went 2-for-2 in the nightcap.
“Coming into it I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But leaving (Friday) I know we had what seems like two lopsided losses on the scoreboard, but I’m real excited,” Weaver said. “There was a couple innings where we came in after a big inning and instead of laying down, the girls really responded.”
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