A downpour in the third inning didn't stop Walker Valley and Silverdale Academy at Larry Haney Field Monday and it particularly didn't stop the Lady Seahawks, who used the long ball to cruise to a 5-1 win over the Lady Mustangs.
Ryan Presswood took the rare loss as the Lady Hawks touched the senior hurler for three home runs including two in the top of the sixth inning on an afternoon where runs were scarce for the hosts. Presswood struck out three batters before handing the ball over to Haley Davis with no outs in the sixth.
The win went to Ally Weber who gave the leather to Bita Cox with a one run lead in the third.
The Feisty Fillies left an even dozen runners on base even though they put Mustangs on the pads in all seven innings. Silverale left just four 'Hawks on.
“I thought we did a great job getting runners on. One of our goals is to get a runner on every inning. It's great we met that goal, but we know even if we meet that goal it doesn't guarantee a win. In this case it did not,” said Fillies Head coach Lauren Limburg
“Situational hitting. Moving runners. Scoring runners. We just didn't get the hits we needed to get. I thought our defense played really solid. They (Silverdale) are a great team. They have a great program. But, at the end of the day we've got to make sure we are doing our jobs as individuals and putting those runs on the board. We had opportunities early in the game. Then you don't feel as much pressure toward the end of the game if you take care of business on the front end.”
Braylee Raby got the day started for Silveredale (21-4) with a blast deep over the left-field fence.
Walker Valley (24-7) loaded the bases in the bottom of of the fourth, but could not push a run across.
Silverdale made the Lady Mustangs pay for their lack of run production in the upper half of the sixth with a lead-off shot off the bat of Jaliyah Whitaker to center. Emory Masterson followed with a double in front of a Brita Cox single. Gabby Hensley made it 5-0 with the second dinger of the inning on another ball that landed over the fence in center sending Limburg to the circle replacing Presswood with Haley Davis. The junior righty, with a strong defensive showing, closed out the inning.
Walker Valley's lone score came in the bottom of the sixth after Karly Davis walked and hustled home on an Amy Benson double to center.
Alyssa Davenport kept the Walker Valley hope alive with a lead-off double in the bottom of the seventh, but was left stranded at third when the Seahawks closed out the evening with three straight outs.
The Lady Mustangs will need to put Monday in the pas as they have chance to lock up the No. 1 seeds for the upcoming District 5-4A tournament with a win Tuesday at Rhea County.
“We've got a big district game at Rhea. We win that game we get the first seed in the district tournament and that's been our goal since day one. All is not lost,” said an enthusiastic Limburg. “We want to play teams like Silverdale because we want push ourselves and pay tough competition. It's all about we've got to turn the page and come out and fight at Rhea County.”
Silverdale 010 004 0 — 5 8 1
Walker Valley 000 001 0 — 1 6 0
WP: Bita Cox LP: Ryan Presswood HR: Gabby Hensley, Jaliyah Whitaker, Braylee Raby (S). 2B: Emory Masterson (S); Alyssa Davenport, Amy Benson (WV). HIGHLIGHTS: Whitaker RS RBI, Masterson 4-4 RS, Hensley RS 3RBI, Raby RS RBI, Carly Ritchey RS (S); Karly Blackwell RS, Benson RBI (WV). RECORDS: Silverdale 21-4; Walker Valley 24-7.