BUFORD — The Buford girls softball team earned its first wins of the season Saturday in the Rumble at the Ridge tournament.
The Lady Wolves opened play on Saturday at the Buford Softball Complex with a 5-3 win over Parkview and then closed out the tournament with an 11-4 thumping of Lambert.
Against Parkview, Buford trailed 2-1 after the third inning but plated three runs in the fourth to grab the lead for good. Eight out of the nine Buford starters got a hit against the Lady Panthers.
Sophomore Olivia Duncan got the win allowing just one earned run in six innings while fanning six.
Junior Shamya Young had a triple and a RBI while seniors Alicia Ross and Abbi Perkins each had one hit for the Lady Wolves.
Against Lambert, Buford scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to blow the game open quickly.
Sophomore pitcher Chloe Hatcher got her first varsity win in her first varsity start in the circle for Buford. Freshman Emma Grace Williams also made her first-ever varsity appearance coming on in relief in the fourth to pick up the save. The game was called after five innings due to tournament time limits.
Hatcher also collected two hits and a pair of RBI at the plate for Buford. Freshman Mackenzie Pickens and junior Abby Cochran each had a hit and two RBI and Perkins had a double and one RBI for the Lady Wolves.
Buford will open its Region 8-6A schedule on Tuesday at home against Dacula.
EAST HALL 14,
BANKS COUNTY 2
East Hall got four RBI from Callie Dale as the Lady Vikings routed defending Class 2A state champion Banks County Saturday on the road.
Dale drove in runs on a single in the first, a single in the second, and a double in the sixth as part of a 14-hit attack for the Lady Vikings (4-0, 1-0 Region 8-2A).
East Hall scored three quick runs in the first but Banks County answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Lady Vikings scored six more times in the second and third innings for a 9-2 lead and put the game away with five in the sixth.
Lindsey Crawford took the loss for Banks County.
Callie Hardison earned the win for East Hall going six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out five.
Dale, Hardison and Alexis Burce each had three hits, Abi Mullins had two hits for the Lady Vikings.
