After a scorching start last week where the Long County High School softball team went 3-0, the Lady Tide tapered down this week by going 1-2. On Tuesday Long County’s winning ways continued as they crushed Saint Vincent’s Academy 12-0 in Ludowici.
The Lady Tide jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back securing their first 2-AA Region win of the year. Pitcher Harley Dawson struck out ten batters enroute to her first no-hitter of year.
The leading batters for Long County were Bailey Harrison who went three for three with four runs batted in, Makaylee Fowler who was two for two with two runs scored, Dawson who was two for two with a walk, and Hannah McGowan and Caitlyn Wingate who both were two for three.
“I thought that we played well today, Harley threw the ball well and Bailey Harrison did a great job behind the plate for her”, said Blue Tide head coach Brian Thomas.
On Wednesday Long County faced Brunswick High School in a non-region game in Ludowici.
Though the home team played well, on this day the Lady Pirates were too much for them winning 9-4. Wingate went the distance in the losing effort giving up ten hits and nine runs.
She walked three batters and struck out five. Though Wingate struggled on the mound, she had a good day behind the plate going two for three at bat. Other notable batters were Katie Estill and Rylie Poppell who both were one for three at the plate.
Though the Long County lost the game, Thomas said playing good teams would only make his team better.
“I enjoy playing good quality non-region opponents like Brunswick, playing them gets us better for region play. They are a solid team and we wish them good luck the rest of the season”, said Thomas.
On Thursday the Lady Tide lost their first region matchup of the year falling to Bryan County 5-3 in Ludowici. Dawson went all seven innings on the mound giving up four hits and five runs.
She struck out twelve batters and walked three. The leading batter for Long County was Harrison who went one for three for the day but slammed out a big 3-run homerun.
“Bryan County did an outstanding job defensively, they took advantage of a few of our mistakes (but) I thought that we fought really hard all the way up to the last pitch; we will take what we learned and get better from it”, said Thomas.
The Lady Tide now sit at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the region. On Monday they are back at home facing Glynn Academy in a non-region game. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:45.