EC advances to second round with sweep over Woodstock behind pitching and hitting

SHARPSBURG-Strong pitching and solid hitting were the key ingredients for the East Coweta Lady Indians Wednesday night as they swept the Woodstock Lady Wolverines in a first round series of the AAAAAAA state softball playoffs.

In game one, Kelley Lunch tossed a two-hitter with seven strikeouts while Ashlynn Gunter had three hits and four others had two hits as the Lady Indians were 8-0 winners in six inning while Rachel Vaughan tossed a two-hitter while three teammates had at least two hits in a 12-1 victory in the nightcap.

The Lady Indians improve to 26-4 on the season and will host either Archer or Collins Hill who split the first two games of their series Wednesday and will play the third game Thursday.

In the opener, the Lady Indians got on the board in the bottom of the first inning as Olivia Davis reached on a one out single, stole second and scored on an error.

Davis was responsible for the second run of the game as she reached on a one out double and scored on a two out single to right by Vaughan.

Featured in a photo with EC assistant Brandon Blair, the trio of Olivia Davis,
Ashlynn Gunter and Kelley Lynch (left to right) were among the leaders in the
sweep of Woodstock as they combined to go 14-for-23 with 11 runs scored and
six RBIs in the two games. Lynch also tossed a two-hitter in game one.

The lead increased to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning as Ashlynn Gunter led off with a double and Hanna Miller followed by launching a shot over the fence for a two-run home run.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Indians used two out magic to account for their scoring as Gunter and Miller singled and both came home as Caison Byars came off the bench to drill a two run double.

The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning with nobody out as Lindsay “Lulu” Warren and Davis reached on back-to-back walks and after Lynch singled to load the bases, Vaughan decided the outcome with a single of her own.

After a 20 minute break, the Lady Indians took the lead in the second game as Lynch reached on a two out double and scored on a single by Aniston Wright.

After being held off the board in the top of the second inning, the Lady Indians took a 2-0 lead in the third as Davis walked, stole second and scored on a single by Gunter.

Gunter was 6-for-7 at the plate in the two games with two runs scored.

The Lady Indians began to pull away in the top of the fourth inning as Caroline Lively reached on leadoff single, Carmen Prior walked and Warren reached base on an infield error to load the bases for Davis.

On the first pitch she saw, Davis drilled a two-run double to left field and scored a run of her own on a sacrifice fly to center field by Vaughan.

More runs came home in the top of the fifth inning Gunter doubled, Miller walked and after two outs, Warren drilled a two-run triple to center field.

A 7-0 lead grew by a run in the top of the sixth inning as Vaughan reached on a one single and after the second out of the frame, courtesy runner Krys Odum came home as Gunter drilled a run scoring double to left field.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Indians hoped to end the game on the mercy rule but a pair of infield errors accounted for the Lady Wolverines’ lone run of the evening and the margin was 8-1 as the game went into the seventh inning.

The Lady Indians responded in the top of the seventh inning as they scored four runs for the game’s final margin.

With one out, Prior doubled, Warren walked and Davis followed with a single that scored Prior and allowed her to move to second on the play.

Davis was 4-for-7 at the plate in the two games with six runs scored and three RBIs.

Lynch who was 3-for-5 at the plate, doubled to right field which brought Warren and Davis plateward to give EC an 11-1 and for good measure, Byars came off the bench again and narrowly missed a home run but had to settle for a run scoring double to center field.

The bottom of the frame ended quietly as first baseman Ansley Duffey handled all three putouts to end the contest.

In going the distance, Vaughan allowed the two hits and recorded four strikeouts as her defense made plays behind her.