The Long County Lady Blue Tide softball team is looking to wrap up its 2024 regular season on a big note and have recently dominated opponents. On Monday, September 23, they faced off against non-region foe St. Vincent’s Academy and dominated from the start, winning their fourth straight in run rule fashion 14-2.
Sophomore pitcher Casey Lust and her defense sat down the first four Saints batters they faced and came up to bat in the bottom of the first. The team proceeded to score three runs without ever getting a hit in the first six batters.
Jersi Lester was hit by a pitch while Ainsley Anderson and Miley Maulden were walked to load the bases. Ciara O’Brien was hit by a pitch to score the first run before Lana Lewis was hit for another and Leah Denmark was walked for the third run.
The Lady Tide finally recorded a hit with Lust getting a single to make the score 4-0. Addison Moss walked to bring home a fifth before Mallory Skipper was hit by a pitch to make the score 6-0.
By this point, the Saints had made two pitching changes, but that did not make much difference as Lester came up for the second time of the inning. She was walked to make the score 7-0, as was Anderson, to make it 8-0.
O’Brien came back up and singled to make the score 9-0.
Lust sat down another Saint with a strikeout, but allowed a hit along the way. She led off the bottom of the second with a single and was brought home thanks to a pinch-hit single by Maddi Brannen.
Kinslee Chapman brought home another run on a sacrifice RBI and O’Brien got her second RBI of the game to make the score 12-0. Kaydence Hardesty came up as the fifth pinch hitter of the inning and reached on an error to make the score 13-0 going into the third.
Jordyn Marchand took over for Lust in the circle for her first appearance of the season. She got one strikeout but allowed two walks and a hit as the Saints scored two runs and avoided the run rule in the third inning.
With a 13-2 lead in the fourth, Marchand did not allow any base runners as she got her second strikeout of the game. In the bottom of the inning, Maulden got a leadoff walk before O’Brien hit her third straight single. Denmark walked and Moss was hit by a pitch to make the score 14-2 and secure the run rule victory for the Tide.
With the win, the Lady Tide get over .500 for the first time this season as they move to 9-8. They played another key region game in Hinesville against Liberty County on Tuesday, September 24.
The Lady Tide will host Southeast Bulloch on Wednesday, September 25, a game moved up from Thursday due to possible inclement weather.