Lady Wolverines Pick Up Two Wins Over Lady Panthers In Season Opener
By EDDY GIFFORD
Sports Writer
Photo by Eddy Gifford – The Lady Wolverines’ Lexi Lawson slides safely into home scoring their first run of the season Saturday in a double header sweep of Ridgeland’s Lady Panthers. The season opener saw the Lady Wolverines pick up a 10-0 four inning win and then a 2-1 win in the second game.
The Dade County High School Lady Wolverine softball team opened the 2023 season on Saturday, Aug. 5, when they hosted the Lady Panthers of Ridgeland High School. The two teams faced off in a double header as they have for the past few years.
Ridgeland missed a chance to score in the first inning when they had runners at second and third with just one out. A Lady Panther was out at home trying to score on a wild pitch and then the third out was a popup to third.
The Lady Wolverines hit the ball hard in the bottom of the first but three fly balls on just five pitches sat them down in order.
Ridgeland missed another opportunity in the second inning when two batters reached on walks but again were unable to score.
The Lady Wolverines scored the first runs of the season when Lexi Lawson started things off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Falyn Baggett. An RBI by Lilah Wilson put Dade on top 2-0 when KK Castleberry reached home.
In the third inning, the Lady Panthers went down in order and the Lady Wolverines picked up where they left off in the second. KK Castleberry got things started with a leadoff home run to left field.
A single by Adilyn Gross scored Madi Page who had walked and stolen second. Gross later scored on a fielder’s choice and Kirsten Breedlove scored on a wild pitch. Dade County was up 7-0.
Photo by Eddy Gifford – KK Castleberry is welcomed by teammates after hitting her first home run of the season in the 10-0 win over the Lady Panthers of Ridgeland on Saturday. KK had five hits in six at bats in the double header.
The team came right back in the bottom of the third when they scored three runs to make the score 10-0 and ended the game on the run rule.
KK Castleberry led the Lady Wolverines with two hits and two RBIs. Kayleigh Warnock picked up the win pitching four innings giving up just one hit, walking two, and striking out three.
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Dade 0 2 5 3 x x x 10 06 01
The second game of the double header was a pitchers’ dual as neither team was able to score until the sixth inning.
After two quick outs in the top of the sixth the Lady Panthers gets a base runner on an error. A walk put a runner in scoring position and a double scored their first run of the day to give them a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Wolverines’ KK Castleberry singled to start the bottom of the sixth and later scored on a single by Lawson to tie the game. A single by Warnock got another run across, and Dade County took a 2-1 lead.
Ridgeland failed to score in the top of the seventh and the Lady Wolverines swept the double header with a 2-1 win.
KK Castleberry again led the Lady Wolverines with three hits while Lawson picked up the win pitching seven innings, giving up four hits and one run while walking two and striking out four.
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Dade 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 02 06 02
This week the Lady Wolverines hosted Lakeview Ft. Oglethorpe on Monday, Southeast Whitfield on Tuesday and will travel to Lakeview Ft. Oglethorpe on Thursday with first pitch at 5:30 p.m.