The Motlow Lady Bucks enjoyed their biggest offensive output of the young season when they beat the Martin Methodist College JV 14-2 in the second game of a doubleheader Monday afternoon in Pulaski. The Red Hawks won the opening game 1-0, scoring the lone run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Motlow (2-4, 0-0) will now embark on the season’s longest road trip, heading to Meridian, Miss. this weekend to take part in the Rush Invitational Tournament. The Lady Bucks will play two games Friday and three Saturday, facing Northwest Florida State, Wallace State-Hanceville, Wallace State-Dothan, Spoon River, and East Mississippi respectively.
Following that trip, Motlow will open Tennessee Community College Athletic Association play when they travel to Chattanooga State for a four-game series March 2 & 3. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday central time.
Kendall Durard was outstanding for the Lady Bucks in the circle in the opener Monday afternoon, allowing only two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. However, MMC hurler Sydney Watson was equally impressive, allowing just three hits.
Neither team got a runner to third base until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the home team pieced together a leadoff double, a steal of third, and a sacrifice fly to get the win. Kylie Thackerson, Samantha King and Miranda Cooksey each had hits for the Lady Bucks.
Game two was a complete reversal. Motlow scored five runs in the first inning, one in the second, and six more in third. The Lady Bucks added a pair of runs in the fifth, as did the Red Hawks, and the game ended on the 10-run rule after five innings.
Six players had two hits each for Motlow; Ariel McAtee, Madison Hopkins, Breanna Owens, Durard, Ciera Dobbins and Caroline Sarris. Haley Hinshaw drove in three runs, while Dobbins, Chelbie Gannon and Ace Hanson each had two RBI.
Owens (1-0) got the win, pitching the first two innings and allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Samantha King pitched the next two innings and gave up just one hit, followed by Sarah Wilson who tossed the final inning and allowed four hits and the two runs.
Jennifer Corbitt currently leads the Lady Bucks with 10 or more at bats in hitting with a .545 batting average. McAtee leads in hits with seven, and Hinshaw is setting the pace in run production with nine runs batted in. The Lady Bucks have stolen 10 bases this season, with McAtee leading the way with four.
