Wheeler Posts Strong Week with 3 Wins
The Wheeler County High School Lady Bulldogs softball team played four games last week. They rolled over Wilcox County on Tuesday on the road, run ruled Montgomery County at home on Thursday, and then took part in the Highway 280 Invitational at Toombs County High School where they fell to West Laurens, but beat Toombs. vs. Wilcox Co.
The week kicked off with a dominant 10-2 road victory over the Wilcox County Patriots. The Lady Bulldogs wasted no time, getting on the board in the top of the first inning. Anna Ethredge walked, and Mackenzie Johnson singled, with each player scoring a run.
Wheeler added to their early lead in the top of the second inning. Ava Dixon singled down the right field line to push the lead to 3-0, and Gabby Angel then singled to center field for a 4-0 lead. Ava Dixon came in to make it 5-0 after a sacrifice fly.
The Lady Bulldogs added another run in the top of the third inning, before Wilcox finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning with two runs to close the lead to 6-2.
Wheeler plated a run in the sixth inning and then scored three more in the seventh, including a home run by Kaleigh Scott. That gave the Bulldogs a 10-2 victory.
Ava Dixon earned the win for the Lady Bulldogs, surrendering five hits and two runs over seven innings, while striking out nine and walking four. vs. Montgomery Co.
On Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs delivered a commanding performance at home, run-ruling the Montgomery County Lady Eagles 150.
Wheeler jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases, and Anna Ethredge drew a walk, scoring one run. Shelley Conner singled, scoring one run, and Mackenzie Johnson tripled, driving in two more runs. An error by MCHS put one more on the board for Wheeler, as they took a 5-0 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs then exploded for nine runs in the second inning. An error scored one run, followed by Anna Ethredge and Mackenzie Johnson each coming through with RBI singles. Another error by the Lady Eagles of MCHS brought in two more runs as Wheeler held a 10-0 lead.
Khloe Davis doubled in another run,, and Kinlee Raiford drove in one more. Raeann Smith picked up an RBI, and one more run crossed on an error as Wheeler built up a 14-0 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs added one more run in the third when Laurie Conner singled down the left field line, making the final score 15-0.
Kaitlyn Conner earned the win for the Lady Bulldogs in the circle. vs. W. Laurens
Wheeler then took part in the Highway 280 Invitational on Saturday. In their first game, they faced a tough opponent, falling to the Lady Raiders of West Laurens 9-0. The Lady Bulldogs struggled to get their offense going, collecting only two hits from Rozilynn Cox and Ava Dixon.
West Laurens got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as they plated three runs to take the early lead. They added another run in the fourth, and two more in the fifth as they held a 6-0 lead.
The Raiders added three more runs in the sixth inning on the way to the 9-0 win over Wheeler County. vs. Toombs Co.
The Lady Bulldogs bounced back in their second tournament game, defeating the Toombs County Bulldogs 8- 4.
Wheeler got on the board in the top of the first inning. After taking a 2-0 lead, Wheeler got a big hit from Anna Ethredge that drove in another run, and Kaleigh Scott added an RBI single as Wheeler took a 4-0
lead. Toombs came back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to close the lead to 4-3, but Wheeler answered with two more in the top of the second inning to extend their lead to 6-3. They had RBI hits from Mackenzie Johnson and Shelley Conner in the inning.
Wheeler plated two more in the fourth inning as they built up an 8-3 lead. Toombs did manage to score one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Wheeler took the win, 8-4.
This week Wheeler was at rival Treutlen County on Monday and then took on Statesboro on Tuesday, both after presstime. They will be back in action on Thursday at home against Hawkinsville at 5:30 p.m.
