FLOWERY BRANCH — East Hall used a three-run sixth inning to break a scoreless tie en route to a 3-0 win over Cherokee Bluff on Saturday.
It was a tremendous pitching duel between East Hall's Calli Hardison and the Lady Bears' Izzy Herren into the sixth.
In the Alexi Burce singled and eventually moved around to third with one out and stole home for the first run. Callie Dale and Kaylana Curry followed with RBI singles.
Hardison scattered six Bluff hits while striking out 12. Izzy Herren took the loss for Cherokee Bluff (3-1) but fanned nine.
Kaylana Curry and Gracie Ausborn each had two hits to pace the Lady Vikings (3-0).
Cherokee Bluff banged out six hits on the day. Emma Anzaldi had two hits and Stephanie Condland, Kaitlyn Herren. and Talia Ragone all had one hit for the Lady Bears.
FLOWERY BRANCH 5,
LAMBERT 4 (6 inn)
The Lady Falcons (5-2) scored two runs in the sixth to rally for their second win of the day on Saturday. Branch knocked off Mountain View 1-0 in the first game of the Hawk Invitational.
Branch led 1-0 early but fell behind 2-1 after the first. The Lady Falcons scored single runs in the second and third to retake the lead but again fell behind as the Lady Longhorns scored twice in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.
In the sixth, Zoe Zadaway and Avery Thomas both scored on passed balls. That capped an eight-hit affair for Branch as Mak Davis had three hits with Hadaway and Abby Gray each racking up two hits.
Lacey Mote then tossed a perfect bottom of the sixth to preserve the win. Mote went 1 1/3-innings in relief to get the save.
Alyssa Wagner went 4 2/3-innings allowing four runs, only three earned, scattering four hits and striking out five.
Courtney Sauer allowed five runs on eight hits to take the loss for Lambert.
BUFORD 5
HARRIS CO. 0 (6 inn)
Olivia Haag, making her first-ever varsity start in the circle, allowed just four hits and no runs to lead the Lady Wolves to a win in the Hawk Invitational tournament.
Haag started slow, walking the first two batters of the game but got out of the inning without any further trouble and did not allow another base runner to get past second the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, the offense got going quickly with a two-out, two-RBI triple from freshman Abby McKinnis in the first inning. Buford scored two insurance runs in the fifth on a solo home run from junior Emma Castorri, her third on the young season, and an RBI double from junior Olivia Duncan.
Duncan closed out the game in the circle pitching the final inning.
Buford (5-1) next hits the road on Monday traveling to Walnut Grove.
