Central coach LeeAnne Shurette wasn't very excited about her top-seeded team having to play two games on Saturday in the District 6-AA softball tournament at East Ridge, but he won't complain too much after winning both with ease.
It didn't take long for the Lady Pounders to beat Hixson in Saturday's first game, needing just six innings to beat the Lady Wildcats from Hixson, 10-0.
Then after East Ridge eliminated Tyner, the girls in purple were back in action to face the Red Bank Lionettes, who are seeded second.
Central won that one as well by an 8-2 margin.
"It's nice to get that first win behind us. Lexie pitched a really good game and our defense played well behind her," Shurette said following the first game.
"Hixson has really improved since the last time we played and I thought they played well, but those back-to-back home runs gave us a lift, but they're capable of doing that every time they bat," she said in reference to Alexis Grampp and Kaili Crawley, who hit consecutive shots in Central's half of the third when they scored seven runs.
Hixson coach Jayme Miller would have liked to have seen better results, but she was happy with the effort despite the loss.
"That was a tough loss, but Central is a good-hitting team. I thought we came out flat and just couldn't seem to get our bats going, but we're moving on and that's what matters. That dropped fly in the third may have been the turning point as Central scored three runs on that error alone," she added.
Samantha Scott had three hits to lead Central as the Lady Pounders finished with a dozen.
Brooke Parrott, Lexie Ainslie, Grampp and Crawley all had two hits apiece.
Demi DeFoor had a single to lead off the first for Hixson while another two-out single by Miranda Lewis in the third were the only two hits the Lady Wildcats could manage.
Ainslie was the winning pitcher as she struck out six with no walks in the two-hit shutout.
Central went to the long ball in the win against Red Bank and again, the Lady Pounders took advantage of a big inning to do most of their damage.
This time it was a six-run fourth where Central scored all six runs with two outs.
Grampp had two more home runs while Crawley had another and finished with four hits for the game. Parrott had a three-run shot while Ainslie and Tatum Morgan both had two hits for Central.
Parrott was the winning pitcher as she struck out seven while allowing two hits, including a home run to Sami Shrader in the fifth and a double to Dani Usher.
"Central had the one big inning where they scored six runs with two outs, so if you take away that, it was a much closer game," said Red Bank coach Mandi Munn.
"But those things happen," she added.
HIXSON 000 000 -- 0 2 3
CENTRAL 107 011 -- 10 12 1
Stanford, Penney (3) and Tipton; Ainslie and Crawley.
RED BANK 000 010 1 -- 2 2 2
CENTRAL 101 600 x -- 8 13 1
Land, Farr (4) and Shrader; Parrott and Crawley.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)