Four consecutive losses to Pleasant Valley were enough for Piedmont’s softball team. After the Raiders handed the Bulldogs an early ticket to the elimination bracket Thursday, Piedmont came back to defeat Pleasant Valley twice and capture the 2A, Area 12 tournament.
“I’ve never seen them that excited,” noted fourth-year head coach Matt Deerman. “Since I’ve been here that was the first tournament they’ve won. I’ve never seen them that happy on a softball field.”
The deciding game, a 6-1 win for the Bulldogs, came Saturday evening at Piedmont. Junior pitcher Miranda Givens appeared fully recovered from an ankle injury.
Givens went seven innings and did not give up an earned run. She struck out five while giving up five hits and one walk.
Pleasant Valley scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning but Piedmont tied the score in the bottom of the inning when Kylea Cook led off with a double and Brooke Dixon, batting second, doubled her home.
The Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the second. With one out, Brittany Hanvey and Givens had consecutive base hits. Catie Hightower reached on an error. Hanvey scored and Givens moved to third. Cook grounded out to second base, scoring Givens.
Piedmont (27-9) added three more runs in the fourth. Hanvey walked and later scored on an error. Dixon’s ground out scored Hightower. Heather Cain’s double then scored Cook who had also doubled.
Piedmont began the tournament Thursday with a 13-3, six-inning win over White Plains. The Bulldogs scored three runs in both the first two innings and were ahead 6-3 after
White Plains batted in the top of the fifth. A six-run fifth was Piedmont’s big inning.
The Bulldogs scored again in the sixth on Miranda Stewart’s single to end the game on the 10-run rule. Stewart had a two-run single in the second inning.
Both Stewart and Andreka Harbour had three hits and three RBI. Dixon scored four runs. Stewart and Cook scored three times.
Givens pitched the first four innings and was the winner. She gave up three hits, struck out two and did not walk a batter.
In Thursday’s late game, Pleasant Valley downed Piedmont 6-4.
Friday, facing elimination, Piedmont defeated Sand Rock 12-10 after holding a 10-1 lead midway through the game.
Sand Rock scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.
“We made some errors and mental mistakes that let them back in the game,” said Deerman.
Cook and Harbour had three hits. Dixon, Cain and Hightower added two hits each. Cook and Hightower scored three times. Cain had three RBI with Dixon and Harbour adding two RBI apiece.
Piedmont then measured Pleasant Valley 15-5 in six innings. The Bulldogs scored three times in both the first and second innings, four runs in the third and three in the fourth. Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth ended the game.
Stewart pitched all six innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs. Cook, Cain and Harbour all had three hits. Harbour drove in three runs. Cain and Stewart had two RBI and Dixon drove in two runs with a two-run home run in the second inning. Hilarie Hincy had two hits and scored two runs. Cain and Cook scored three times each.
Both the regular season all-area team and the all-tournament team for Area 12 were chosen by the coaches during the tournament. On the regular season team from Piedmont were Cook, Dixon, Givens and Stewart. Stewart was named MVP of the Area tournament. Cain, Cook and Dixon joined her.
