Olivia Ambler slides into third base as James Monroe’s Cora Frazier tries to make the tag, in the first inning of a game played Tuesday evening in Fairlea. Ambler was safe, and her Greenbrier East Lady Spartans ended the game with a win, 11-3.
The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans defeated James Monroe’s softball team Tuesday, winning 11-3 in six inning. Haylee Shires pitched for the Spartans, notching six strikeouts.
Taylor Sams, Monroe’s right fielder, reached first base on a single. She advanced with the help of a sacrifice and an error to reach third base. She then scored on a sacrifice fly. East answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning, Olivia Ambler scoring on a double by Shayla Fry.
In the second inning, Monroe went three up, three down, ending the inning with a double play. The batter hit to pitcher Shires, who threw to shortstop Callie Honaker, who threw to Emilee Vance. East then added four runs, scoring Taylor Hardiman, Gabby Mills, Haylee Shires, and Shayla Fry.
In the third inning, East held Monroe scoreless, shortstop Callie Honaker throwing one baserunner out at third, and catching a popup for the last out. East then went three up and three down, but not before they put a couple of runners on base, saw Hardiman coming home and getting tagged at the last second. After the scoreless third, the score was 5-1.
In the fourth inning, Monroe’s first batter was out hitting a grounder to first. The second batter hit a hard shot to third base, which Abby Mullins snagged, reaching as high as she could. The last out came on a pitch from second baseman Hardiman to shortstop Honaker. East then added two runs to its total, scoring Ambler and then Fry, who, when stealing third, turned an error into a run.
In the fifth inning, Monroe started with a single, a walk, a single, and another walk, to score one run, and have the bases loaded with no outs. But all of that potential came to just one more run, as shortstop Honaker threw out the next batter at first, Shires got a strikeout, and Honaker threw another runner out at first, to end the rally. Score, 7-3.
In the sixth, pitcher Shires threw three straight strikeouts to retire the side. East then scored four batters in a row, Gabby Piles, Shires, Ambler and Fry, to make the score 11-3, and end the game because of the size of the lead.
East finished its regular season schedule this past week, and will begin sectional play the week of Monday, May 1. All sectional games will be home games, because East finished first in its section.
