Lady Panthers surge to defeat Deerfield-Windsor

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, August 31, 2022

CHULA – Tiftarea Academy’s bats got hot and Hannah Grace Murphy settled in Tuesday evening. Combined, the two forces were more than enough to defeat Deerfield-Windsor 8-5 in a District 3-AAA softball game.

Deerfield-Windsor had a 4-0 lead after the top of the 2nd inning and 5-3 in the 5th. Then, the bottom of the 5th happened. Nine Lady Panthers stepped to the plate and five of them scored, completely changing the course of the contest.

“We hit the ball well,” said head coach Rob Flick, who sees his team even their district record at 1-1.

The visiting Lady Knights threw out the first batter they saw in the 5th, but none of the next four.

A walk to Ali Strenth and a double by Pyper McCard put runners on second a third . Mackenzie Matthews hit a grounder to shortstop, but the throw was wild and Strenth scored to make it a 5-4 Deerfield lead.

Haylee Grace Cole hit a grounder that perhaps rolled two feet up the third base line. It was fielded, but the throw to first too high and McCard came in to tie the game.

Jolee Paulk, running for Cole, moved up a base on Caroline Heard’s sacrifice bunt. Next up was Elaine Mercer, who singled off the pitcher’s glove, a play that also ended in an error on a wild throw. Two runs scored on this play and it was now 7-5, Tiftarea ahead.

Isabel Fernandez doubled to deep center, scoring Mercer. Deerfield-Windsor induced a ground ball to end the inning, but the damage was done. Plus, Murphy was now in total command in the circle.

Murphy allowed three hits total Tuesday and struck out four. Only one of the five runs was earned.

“She competes, no matter what’s going on behind her,” said Flick. “She’s a freshman who has been asked to pitch a lot of innings already.”

Tamiyah Brown reached second on a wild pitch in the 6th and Julia Watson was at the same base in the 7th after Anna Morey’s single, but Murphy got out of both jams. A ground ball and a pop to Strenth at shortstop ended the former and Fernandez threw out the Lady Knights to end everything in the top of the 7th.

Tiftarea hit early in the game, but struggled to get out of their own way as Deerfield jumped ahead.

Joi Hubbard was hit by the first pitch of the game, reached third on an steal and error and scored on Brittyn Butler’s sac fly.

Three more Lady Knights crossed in the 2nd. Watson was plunked and Morey walked immediately and an error scored both. Hubbard made it 4-0 on Tamiyah Brown’s double.

Tiftarea had two 1st inning hits, but also two outs on the bases. They began to remedy that in the 2nd, scratching across one run.

McCard led off with a double, coming home on Cole’s sharp single up the middle.

In the 3rd, Elli Bryan and Murphy closed the gap to 4-3. Bryan doubled, Murphy singled and Strenth walked to load the bases for McCard. One single later, Bryan and Murphy crossed the plate.

Deerfield-Windsor got an insurance run from Butler after her leadoff double and a Tiftarea error. But Murphy and the defense were both nearly spotless afterwards for the big district victory.

McCard had three hits and three RBIs on the day. Fernandez and Murphy had two hits each. McCard scored twice.