The Caldwell County Lady Tigers tuned up for this weekend’s All A state softball tournament by sweeping a 7th District doubleheader Thursday evening. The Lady Tigers knocked off Hopkins Central 13-2 and 8-3 in Princeton.
In the opener, in which the Lady Tigers were the visiting team, Caldwell County broke out the big sticks early in routing the Lady Storm. The Lady Tigers hit four home runs in the contest, with 2 of those coming in the first inning.
After Emma Staples led off the game with a single, Caldwell County pitcher Katie Franklin blasted her first home run of the game to centerfield to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead. The very next batter, Mashea Glover, hit a solo shot to centerfield to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the top of the second, the Lady Tigers plated four more runs. Haley Stiles drove in two runs with a single, while Katie Franklin then hit her second two run homer in as many innings to make it 7-0.
Caldwell County then ripped the game open in the top of the 3rd , scoring six more runs. Emma Staples connected for an RBI double. Katie Franklin drove in her 5th run of the game with an RBI single. Madi Choate capped off the scoring with a three run homer to centerfield to make it 13-0.
Hopkins Central would score a pair of runs in the bottom of the 4th, but it was not nearly enough, and the game was called at 13-2.
Katie Franklin was big for the Lady Tigers, going 3-3, with two home runs and 5 RBIs. Madi Choate was 1-3 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. Haley Stiles was 1-2 with 3 RBIs in the game.
In the circle, Franklin went all four innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits, striking out seven and walking one.
In the nightcap, the Lady Tigers started off a bit slower, but finished fast in picking up the 8-3 win. Caldwell County got two runs in the bottom of the first, with the big hit being an RBI single from Mashea Glover.
Hopkins Central rallied to tie the game with two runs in the top of the 3rd. However, the Lady Tigers quickly responded and put the game under their control. Caldwell County scored 2 in the 3rd, and 4 more in the bottom of the 4th to make it 8-2 and effectively end the game. In the 3rd inning, the big hit came in the form of an RBI triple from Mashea Glover. In the 4th, the scoring attack was led by an RBI single from Katie Franklin and and RBI double from Mashea Glover.
Mashea Glover had a huge game for Caldwell County, going 3-3 with 4 RBIs. Allie Felker was 2-2 with an RBI.
Peyton Young and Katie Franklin combined to give up 3 runs on six hits, striking out three while walking five.