Horatio- The Lady Bears took care of business on Thursday with a 4-1 victory over Ouachita and Friday as they knocked off Parkers Chapel 2-1 with a walk-off Sac-Fly by Erin McMaster that scored Cally Sullivan. Those two wins set up a 2A South Regional Championship matchup with Woodlawn, in which the Lady Bears would fall short 6-1. Winning 2nd place in the Region, secured a 2-Seed for the Lady Bears as they head Greenland for the State Tournament that starts Thursday May 11th. 

Spring Hill 4                 Ouachita 1

Erin McMaster was dominant from the pitchers’ circle as she racked up 11 Strikeouts, while allowing just 2 hits and 1 run (0 ER). The Lady Bears took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd inning on a couple of miscues from Ouachita, as Cally Sullivan and Ava McBrayer score on a ground ball by Camryn Dickson. Later in the 5th inning Spring Hill tacked on a couple of insurance runs to extend the lead to 4-1 as Camryn Dickson roped a single to RF that scored Cally Sullivan after she swiped a bag to get into scoring position. Cami Porter got in on the action as she smashed a big 2-out double to center driving in Camryn Dickson. Erin McMaster struck out the last Ouachita batter of the game to seal the win and with that the Lady Bears punched their ticket to the State Tourney. Camryn Dickson had a day at the plate with two singles and 2 RBI. Baili Butler and Cami Porter each added doubles. Cally Sullivan had a single and also reached on an error as her speed continues to be a problem for opposing teams. The win set up a 2nd round matchup with Parkers Chapel. 

Spring Hill 2                 Parkers Chapel 1

Erin McMaster once again dominated the opposing lineup as she allowed only 1 hit and 1 run (0ER) and striking out 4. The defense was excellent as they assisted on 17 outs. The Lady Bears outhit Parkers Chapel 6 to 1, but the Lady Bears did not score until the bottom of the 7th inning. We have seen how resilient the Lady Bears have been as this was their 2nd walk-off win since postseason play has started (walk-off win over Horatio in District Tourney). Emma Rhodes started off the 7th inning with a single and then Cally Sullivan ripped an RBI triple to tie the game at 1-1. Parkers Chapel would then intentionally walk Ava McBrayer and Camryn Dickson to set up a force at home plate, the only problem with that plan was that Erin McMaster was walked up to the plate next. McMaster did her job at the plate as she lifted a ball to CF and Cally Sullivan tagged up and scored from 3rd to seal the win. Spring Hill had 6 hits in Fridays game as Cally Sullivan had a triple, and Kelsie Thompson, Erin McMaster, Livi Tyree, Ava McBrayer, and Emma Rhodes each had singles. Once again, great defense and timely offense sent the Lady Bears into the Regional Championship. 

Spring Hill 1                 Woodlawn 6

Offense was at a minimum for both teams as Erin McMaster and Woodlawns’ McWhorter locked up for a duel as the score was Woodlawn 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th inning when Woodlawn pushed across 3 runs. Woodlawn would tack on a couple more runs and win 6-1. The Lady Bears offense pushed across a run on an RBI double from Erin McMaster as she drove in Camryn Dickson. McMaster finished with 3 strikeouts and allowed 7 hits and 6 runs (3ER). Offensively, McMaster had an RBI double, Camryn Dickson had a single and scored a run, and Emma Rhodes added a single as the Woodlawn pitcher made it tough on the Lady Bears to get anything going. Spring Hill will enter the State Tournament as a #2 seed, their first game with be against McCrory at 12:30 on Thursday May 11th in Greenland.

Photos Courtesy of Nicki Purifoy