Wheeler With 2 Solid Wins
The Wheeler County High School Lady Bulldogs softball team played 3 games last week, winning 2 of those. They took a close game from East Laurens on Monday of last week and then rolled over First Preparatory Christian Academy on Tuesday. But Wheeler fell on Wednesday to a tough Vidalia team.
Wheeler is 16-7 on the year and they are 7-2 in Region play and sitting in second place in the Region. vs. E. Laurens The Lady Bulldogs edged out a tough 3-2 victory over the Lady Falcons of East Laurens in a classic pitcher's duel on Monday of last week.
Both teams brought their 'A' game in the circle, but it was the Lady Bulldogs' pitching staff, led by Katelyn Conner, who came out on top. Conner started the game for Wheeler County and was masterful, recording 18 outs—good for six full innings of work. She struck out 12 batters on the day while only giving up 2 hits and 0 earned runs. Ava Dixon appeared in relief to secure the win for the Lady Bulldogs.
Wheeler County's offense got on the board in the top of the fourth inning, scoring two runs. The first run came after Gabby Angel grounded into a fielder's choice, and the second was scored on a passed ball.
The Lady Falcons picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Wheeler answered in the top of the seventh to increase their lead to 3-1. East Laurens did manage to get a run in the bottom of the seventh to close the lead to 3-2, but Wheeler held them there to take the win by that score.
Leading the charge offensively for the Lady Bulldogs was Kaleigh Scott with 2 hits in 4 atbats. Shelley Conner and Gabby Angel each drove in 1 run for Wheeler County in the narrow, hard-fought victory. vs. FPCA
Wheeler County followed up their Monday win with a dominant 15-0 shutout victory over First Preparatory Christian Academy on Tuesday. The Lady Bulldogs' offense exploded early, and their pitching was flawless in the abbreviated three-inning contest.
Khloe Davis earned the win for the Lady Bulldogs, delivering a stellar performance on the mound. Davis kept the First Prep bats completely silent, allowing no hits and no runs over 3 innings. She struck out 7 batters.
Wheeler County's offense wasted no time, getting on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Shelley Conner hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run, followed by a Jadirra Randolph single that drove in 2 more runs, giving the Lady Bulldogs an early lead.
The scoring continued in the bottom of the second inning with a 6-run rally on 3 hits. The runs came from a Laurie Conner walk, an RBI single from Shelley Conner scoring 2, an Anna Ethredge triple that scored 2 more, and a run scored on a Jadirra Randolph groundout. That pushed the lead to 9-0.
Wheeler County put the game away with another 6-run outburst in the bottom of the third inning. The runs came quickly from a Shiann Carey single, a Shelley Conner single, a Jadirra Randolph walk, a run driven in when Mackenzie Johnson was hit by a pitch, and a 2-run single from Raeann Smith, making the final score 15-0, with Wheeler winning by the run rule. vs. Vidalia
The Lady Bulldogs suffered a tough loss to the Lady Indians of Vidalia on Wednesday, falling 7-3 in a hard-fought extra- inning battle.
Lady Bulldogs pitcher Katelyn Conner put in a spectacular performance, striking out 10 batters and pitching all eight innings of the game. Despite her strong effort, she allowed 6 hits and 3 runs over the first 7 innings before the Lady Indians' offense erupted in the eighth. Vidalia initially took the lead in the top of the third inning with a run making the score 1-0. The game remained a tight, low-scoring affair until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Wheeler County managed to tie the score at 1-1 on a single to left field by Mackenzie Johnson.
With the score knotted at 1-1 after 7 innings, the game went to extras, where Vidalia's offense exploded. The Lady Indians jumped ahead in the top of the eighth inning, scoring 6 runs to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs added 2 more runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the lead was too large to overcome, ending the game with a 7-3 final score.
This week Wheeler closed out the regular season with a double header on Monday against Clinch County and then wrapped it up with Hawkinsville at home on Tuesday, both games after presstime.
