Softball: Buford holds off North Gwinnett in battle of ranked teams

SUWANEE -- The Buford offense belted three home runs and junior Kennedy Kotula limited North Gwinnett to just three hits as the Lady Wolves took a 9-1 win in five innings over the Lady Bulldogs Wednesday in girls softball action.<br /> <br /> Buford (11-1) came in ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA while North Gwinnett was ranked seventh in Class AAAAAA.<br /> <br /> Drew Puckett cranked one home run and Brianna Gutierrez smacked two homers as part of 11 hits for Buford. Kennedy fanned seven and walked none in the complete-game victory.<br /> <br /> North Gwinnett's only run came in the fourth and was unearned.<br /> <br /> Gutierrez also had four RBI for the Lady Wolves. Remington Hasty and Sydney Stavro each had two hits for Buford.<br /> <br /> The lady Wolves scored a run in the first on a RBI single by Jordan Deep and three more in the fourth on a two-run home run by Puckett and a solo shot by Gutierrez.<br /> <br /> North Gwinnett cut the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on an unearned run with two outs. Buford put the game away in the fifth with five runs on five hits and one North Gwinnett error.<br /> <br /> Buford next will play host to North Oconee on Thursday.<br />