Gift for mom

Wood’s sister Carley delivered her birthday present the day before when she went 4-for-4 with six RBIs against Jacksonville. She had four more RBIs against the Lady Raiders.

“I wouldn’t be where I was if it weren’t for my momma,” Shelby said. “She’s the heart and soul of our family. She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever known. She pushes me and my sister more than anybody. This is for her.”

Shelby delivered a two-run double in the fourth inning extending the Lady Wildcats’ lead to 8-3 and ripped a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 11-6. She had hit plenty over the fence in practice, she said, but this was the first time she went yard in a game.

“Home runs are Carley’s thing,” Shelby said. “I get on so she can bring us in.”

It’s been a big week offensively for the Lady Wildcats. They have scored 52 runs in three games this week.

“Coach (Rachel) Ford preaches to us that you have to out-hit everybody,” Shelby said. “We’re not going to blow it by anybody pitching so we have to score as many runs as possible. If we win by one, that’s great. You’ve just got to out-hit them and win every inning.”

The Lady Wildcats outhit their hosts 16-13. In addition to the Woods, Ashlyn Hinton, Aillee Martin, Hannah Fortenberry and Katy Roszell had two hits apiece.

Kara Perry drove in four runs for the Lady Raiders. Atleigh Brannon and Mac Parris both went 3-for-5.

The game originally was scheduled to be played at White Plains, but had to be moved here after vandals damaged the Lady Wildcats’ field over the weekend. The Lady Wildcats will play all their remaining games on the road until further notice.

White Plains 12, Pleasant Valley 8
White Plains 104 330 1 — 12 16 3
Pleasant Valley 003 301 1 — 8 13 0
WP: Ashlyn Hinton. LP: Alisa St. John. 2B: Hannah Fortenberry (W), Shelby Wood (W), Carley Wood (W), Ashlyn Hinton (W), Aillee Martin 2 (W), Katy Rozell (W); Taylor Williams (P), Kara Perry (P), Mac Parris (P), Alisa St. John (P), Atleigh Brannon (P). HR: Shelby Wood (W).

Faith Christian 19, Jacksonville Christian 9: The Lady Lions (2-3) sprinkled a lot of new faces throughout their lineup and the result was a 20-hit night.

Three seniors made their first career starts. Jodi Coleman opened in the circle and went three innings allowing only one hit and two runs. Precious Kufarimai went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Janay Caver went 3-for-5 with two singles, a double and two RBIs.

Meanwhile, the younger players also got in on the act. Eighth-grader Paityn Boyd went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two singles and two RBIs. Classmates Riley Doyle went 2-for-4 and Gabrielle Frechette went 3-for-3. Freshman Sydnee Johnson went 2-for-3 and sophomore Kristin Covington closed out the game in the circle, striking out seven batters in three innings.

“I can’t say enough how proud I am of these girls; they get better every day,” Faith coach Amelia Foshee said. “We saw a lot of new faces in our lineup throughout the night. It was really neat to see some of our seniors get their first career starts and hits tonight.

“We’ve been working hard on having quality at-bats and controlling the strike zone at every spot in the lineup and they did that tonight very well.”

Piedmont 11, Glencoe 0: Kayleigh Williams went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and pitched a complete-game shutout scattering nine hits for the Lady Bulldogs.

Piedmont pounded 17 hits in the game. Morgan Martin also went 4-for-5, while Ambert Raney, Zoee Holbomb and Kenzie Key had two hits apiece. Rebecca Smart hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs in the game. Key also drove in three runs.

The Lady Bulldogs scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back. They scored in every inning but the second.

Piedmont 11, Glencoe 0
Piedmont 301 221 2 — 11 17 0
Glencoe 000 000 0 — 0 9 0
WP: Kayleigh Williams. LP: NA. 2B: Kayleigh Williams 2 (P), Zoee Holbomb (P), HR: Rebecca Smart (P).

On the cover, Faith Christian’s infielders meet in the circle as the Lady Lions make a pitching change. (Photo by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos).