By C. Scott Shasteen
Motlow Sports Information
The Motlow Lady Bucks opened their second season under head coach Tori Raby-Gentry in grand fashion Sunday afternoon at the softball complex in Moore County, sweeping visiting Jackson, Mich. 7-2, 7-1.
The Lady Bucks will host Calhoun Community College from Decatur, Ala. on today for a 1 p.m. doubleheader, then open TCCAA conference play this weekend by hosting Volunteer State for a four-game series. Friday’s games begin at 1 p.m. and Saturday’s action starts at noon.
Sophomore Roxanne Hillman opened the season on the mound for the Lady Bucks and was superb, allowing four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in her seven innings of work. The Lady Bucks started strong offensively as well, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings.
Makenzie Hopkins slammed a double to lead off the bottom of the first and Ashley Williams drove her in with a single. Williams then stole second and third before scoring on a Chelsea Howell groundout. Howell played catcher last year for Coffee County.
In the second inning Shelby Webb singled for Motlow and Manchester’s Tori Taylor followed that up with a one-out home run. Motlow added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, including Williams’ solo home run the sixth. Both Jackson runs came in the top of the third inning.
Game two saw freshman Gabi Keith pretty well match Hillman’s mound performance, allowing only four hits and three walks while striking out five. Like Hillman, only one earned run crossed the plate against Keith.
The Lady Bucks scored three runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth. Taylor slammed her second home run of the day in the third; a two-run shot that drove in Lauren Warren who had singled. With two outs in the fourth, Warren drove in Howell with a single and Webb slammed her first home run of the season. Jackson’s lone run came in the top of the seventh inning.
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The Motlow Bucks (10-4) split a doubleheader with Martin Methodist JV Sunday at the Driver Complex. Bucks won the opener 14-4, and then lost by the same score in the second game. Motlow hosts Wallace State today.
