Wheeler Opens Season with Two Wins and a Close Loss
The Wheeler County High School Lady Bulldogs softball team is off to a 2-1 start on the year. They played their first game of the season against the Lady Indians of Vidalia High School and fell in extra innings, but then bounced back with wins over the Lady Panthers of Portal and the Lady Trojans of Johnson County. The Dawgs' pitching was a highlight, with multiple pitchers delivering strong performances throughout the week. vs. VHS
Wheeler County started their season with a tough 2-1 loss on Tuesday to the Lady Indians of Vidalia High School.
Wheeler County opened the scoring in the third inning after an error allowed a run to score. However, the Vidalia team managed to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth with a single.
Neither team scored in the seventh inning, sending the game to extra innings. VHS held in the top of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Indians came through with a run to take the win over Wheeler, 2-1. Wheeler County's Ava Dixon took the loss, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out six and walking seven. vs. Portal
On Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back with a decisive 6-0 victory over Portal. Kaitlyn Conner was masterful in the circle, tossing a complete seven-inning shutout. She surrendered only four hits and walked two while racking up an impressive 15 strikeouts.
The Dawgs' offense opened the scoring in the second inning after Laurie Conner tripled, driving in a run. Wheeler added another run in the fourth inning, and one more in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. They plated three more runs in the sixth inning on the way to a 6-0 win over the Lady Panthers.
Ava Dixon provided a spark in the middle of the lineup, leading the team with two runs batted in. She, along with Shelley Conner, Gabby Angel, Kaleigh Scott, Anna Ethredge, and Laurie Conner, each collected one hit.
vs. Johnson Co.
The Dawgs continued their winning ways on Thursday with an 8-0 shutout victory over Johnson County. Ava Dixon was dominant on the mound, striking out 12 batters over six innings while giving up only one hit and walking one.
The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when the Dawgs' offense exploded, scoring eight runs to secure the win. The rally began with a single from Shelley Conner, followed by a tworun single from Rozilynn Cox. Errors brought in two more runs, and then Anna Ethredge added another run-scoring single. Ava Dixon capped off the scoring with a two-run homer to center field.
Dixon and Gabby Angel led the team with two hits each.
This week Wheeler was at Wilcox County on Tuesday after presstime. They will be back in action on Wednesday at Appling County at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday they will host Montgomery County at 5:30 p.m., and then on Saturday they will be at Toombs County High School for the Highway 280 Invitational. On Saturday the Lady Bulldogs will play West Laurens at 12:00 p.m. and will take on Toombs County at 2:00 p.m.
