Valdosta, Ga. – After two seasons of finishing at the top the of standings and being unable to play in the tournament, the Lady Hawks wasted no time in making a statement; winning both on the first day of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Shorter opened the day with a 2-1 win over fellow tournament newcomer Union, and followed it up with a 5-3 victory over top-seeded and national No. 1 Valdosta State.
In game one, the Lady Hawks (33-14) got all the offense they would need in the third inning as
Ericka Bynum and
Kameron Carter turned in back-to-back RBI singles to bring in
Maggie Meacham and
Paige Rowland; who reached on a double and after being hit by a pitch, respectively.
Union (31-18) answered in the next inning with one of their own on an RBI single from Caylee Crews, only to have Shorter retire the next two batters in order to escape trouble.
Maddie Bray earned the win for the Lady Hawks; allowing one run on two hits through five innings of work.
Kalei Kimbrell came on in relief in the sixth, keeping the Bulldogs hitless through two innings with three strikeouts to earn the save.
Meacham,
Niki Cook and
Carson Carriker turned in two hits each.
The second game remained scoreless until the fourth when Bynum broke through for the Lady Hawks with a 2-run homer to left center to plate
Kendall Johnson; who reached on a bunt single to third earlier in the inning. Shorter added to in the fifth on a 2 RBI single by Meacham to shallow right field; plating
Hannah Draper and Cook.
In the bottom of the inning Valdosta State (46-6) answered with two as Fran Johnson delivered an RBI single and Kiley Rusen drew a bases loaded walk from Kimbrell, who entered in relief of
Amanda Blanchard. The Lady Hawks were able to preserve the lead, 4-2, as Courtney Albritton and Brandy Morgan were then struck out back-to-back.
Shorter added a final run in their last at bat as Cook showed her speed with a triple to left field, and then came in to score on an infield single by Meacham. The Blazers rallied for a run in the bottom of the inning, but again the Lady Hawks escaped further damage as they got Kelly Gordon to pop out to Carter.
Blanchard earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits with three strike outs through 4.1 innings of work. Kimbrell earned her second save of the day after turning in 2.2 innings of one run, one hit ball with three strikeouts.
Bynum and Meacham each tallied two hits in the win.
Shorter will take on North Alabama Friday afternoon at 3:00pm at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
