The Russellville Lady Panthers took advantage of the pitching and hitting of Tara Gilbert and a couple of Franklin errors Tuesday to end the Franklin-Simpson Lady Cats’ domination of 13th District softball, at least for now.
Gilbert singled and scored in the first inning, was hit by a pitch in the second, and then doubled and scored the tying run in the fourth in leading Coach Calvin Head’s team to a 5-3 win. She also pitched the win, going the distance and allowing three runs on six hits and four walks.
In their first three district wins, Coach Matthew Wilhite’s Lady Cats had won 10-0, 10-0 and 13-3.
In the first inning, Gilbert singled, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on Brooklyn Ray’s single. After an out, Johnea Pendleton singled, and Macy Meacham singled in Ray. Taryn Gray reached on an infield error to load the bases, but F-S pitcher Madison Davis got a strikeout to end the threat.
In the decisive fourth inning, Gilbert smacked a one-out double. Then Ray reached on an error, and Tonisha Hampton doubled in Gilbert and Ray with the tying and winning runs. Hampton then scored when Pendleton reached on another infield error.
The Lady Panthers threatened in the fifth inning when Susanna Higgins and Cierra Collins got back-to-back, two-out singles. This time, however, Davis struck out Gilbert.
Pendleton singled in the sixth for Russellville’s last hit.
Senior first baseman Alannah Fuller had a super game for Franklin. In a two-run first inning, she doubled in Davis, who had singled in seventh grader Makinlee Webb. In the third, she blasted a solo home run. And in the sixth, she walked to load the bases, but Gilbert got basketball standout Jessie Bellar on a comebacker to the mound to end the threat and seal the win.
Davis, the granddaughter of Alan Neal of Auburn who is in her third year as the Lady Cats’ starting pitcher as a freshman, was on base three times. In addition to her RBI single, she was hit by two pitches. Bellar and Dru Knight got the only other F-S hits while Hannah Thurmond walked and was hit by a pitch.
Russellville improved to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the district. The Lady Cats fell to 6-12 but are still 3-1 in the district.