HALLSVILLE — Kayla Williams capped a 3-for-4 hitting performance and a three-hit pitching effort with a fifth-inning, walkoff single that scored Shannon Sanders as Spring Hill needed less than five innings to subdue White Oak 11-1 in Game 1 of a Class 3A Region II quarterfinal series Thursday.
Sha' McDowell walked and Sanders singled to open Spring Hill's fifth, which started with a 9-1 Lady Panther lead. Jessica Fudge dropped her third successful bunt of the night to score McDowell, then Williams blooped a single to right field as Sanders trotted home for her third run of the game to prompt the 10-run rule.
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Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo | Spring Hill's Lindsey Harding, left, tags White Oak's Kristin Secord at second base during Thursday's playoff game in Hallsville.
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Fudge batted 2-for-3 with two bunt singles and a sacrifice bunt. Sanders, who now has 50 RBIs, and Allison Brown each drove in two runs, and McDowell scored twice and knocked in another.
Spring Hill coach Mark Comfort was pleased with his team's run production.
"I thought all the way up and down the lineup, one through nine, the girls moved the ball," Comfort said. "If you move the ball around, good things are going to happen."
Comfort said winning Game 1 does not take any pressure off Spring Hill, pointing to last week's series-opening loss to Van that gave way to consecutive Lady Panther wins.
"We were able to regroup (against Van). (White Oak) has the ability to regroup," Comfort said. "That wasn't their best game tonight. They've got a better game than that, so they're going to have a chance to regroup and come play."
Williams (22-9) kept White Oak in check, surrendering only three hits in five innings. She struck out five and walked only one.
Spring Hill first
Sanders reached on an error to lead off, and Fudge moved her to second on a bunt. Williams then delivered an RBI single up the middle to give Spring Hill a 1-0 lead.
Three batters later, Brown ripped a two-out, two-run double up the middle, scoring Williams and Kaeli Baker. After a Lindsey Harding single, McDowell's RBI infield single plated courtesy runner Caitlyn Grimes for a 4-0 Lady Panther edge.
Spring Hill third
Lauren Bernaldez and Brown each walked to start the inning. Bernaldez scored on an error off Harding's groundball, and Ashley Campbell followed with a single.
With one out, Harding scored on a wild pitch, then Sanders roped a two-run double to left-center field to score Campbell and McDowell, pushing Spring Hill's lead to 8-0. Fudge's first bunt single preceded a Williams RBI groundout that put Spring Hill up 9-0.
Notable
McDowell walked to lead off the fifth before scoring on Fudge's second bunt single, which pushed the Lady Panthers ahead 10-1. White Oak's Haley Walters fell to 17-11. Ladyneck Morgan Wilson doubled and scored on Jessica Warren's fourth-inning, RBI groundout.
