By Staff
The Escambia County High School Blue Lady Devils softball team placed second in the Sectional II tournament last weekend in Robertsdale.
The Lady Devils were joined in the tournament by five other teams: the Cintronelle Wildcats, the Blount Leopards, the Monroeville County High School Tigers, the Robertsdale Golden Bears, and St. Paul.
The Lady Devils began the tournament with a bang, as they defeated the Blount Leopards 12-0 in five innings.
The Lady Devils jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. The Devils scored the rest of their runs in the fourth and fifth inning. They scored three runs in the fourth inning and two runs in the fifth to earn the victory.
The Devils were led at the plate by a multitude of players. Hannah Rigsby led the Devils with three hits, as she went 3/3 with one run. Shanna McMillian, Leslie Presley, Renee Wheeler, and Natalie Guy followed for the Lady Devils as they each had two hits apiece. Wheeler and Guy also had two runs each.
Leslie Presley earned the win on the mound for the Lady Devils. She pitched all five innings: allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, and had nine strikeouts.
The Lady Devils next game did not go so well, as they were shut-out by the St. Paul 9-0.
St. Paul jumped on the Lady Devils from the start as they scored all of their runs in the game's first four innings. They scored one run in the first inning, one run in the second inning, four runs in the third inning, and two more runs in the fourth inning.
The leading hitters for the Lady Devils were Hannah Rigsby and Shanna McMillian. Both Rigsby and McMillian finished with two hits, as they went 2/3from the plate. Katie Lambert and Valisa Hadley followed for the Lady Devils as they went 1-3.
Leslie Presley took the loss on the mound for the Lady Devils. She pitched six innings: allowing 17 hits, eight runs, two walks and had two strikeouts.
The Lady Devils next game ended with much better results, as they pounded the Monroeville County High School Tigers 12-2 in five innings.
The Lady Devils never gave the Lady Tigers a chance as they scored in all five of the game's innings. They scored one run in the first, three in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth.
The Lady Tigers managed to score one run in the bottom of the first and their last run in the bottom of the fourth.
The leading hitters in the game for the Lady Devils were Hannah Rigsby, Leslie Presley, and Krystal Rolin. Rolin, Presley and Rigsby each had three hits for the Devils as they all went 3-4. Rolin had two runs for the Lady Devils, while Presley had three runs and a double.
Katie Lambert and Valisa Hadley also went 1-4 for the Lady Devils. Lambert also had two run scored, while Hadley scored three runs for the Lady Devils.
Leslie Presley earned the win on the mound for the Lady Devils. She pitched all five innings: allowing only three hits, two runs, three walks, and had eight strikeouts.
The Lady Devils next game also ended very well for the Devils as they whipped the Cintronelle Wildcats 14-3 in five innings.
The game started out close as both sides managed to score in the game's first two innings to make the score 5-3 after two innings, but the Lady Devils broke the game open in the top of the fourth as they scored five runs to go up 10-3.
The Lady Devils managed to score four more runs in the top of the fifth inning to complete their scoring and earn the 14-3 victory.
Cassie Lassiter led the Lady Devils at the plate against the Wildcats. She went 3-4 at the plate with three runs and a homerun. Krystal Rolin, Hannah Rigsby, and Shanna McMillian all followed for the Lady Devils as they went 2/3. Katie Lambert also went 1/4 for the Devils with a triple and one run scored.
Leslie Presley earned her third win of the tournament against the Wildcats. She pitched all five innings: allowing eight hits, three runs, three walks and had five strikeouts.
The Lady Devils next game was probably their best-played game of the tournament as they won a very close, extra-inning game with the St. Paul 5-4.
St. Paul looked like they had the game in hand in the fifth inning as they scored one run to make the score 4-2 heading into the top of the sixth inning. But the Lady Devils came back in the top of the sixth inning as they scored two runs to tie the game up.
Neither team would score in the seventh inning so the game had to go into extra-innings. In the top of the eighth inning Leslie Presley got on base with a single, and with an 2-1 count Joleccia Pearson singled Presley in to win the game for the Lady Devils.
Hannah Rigsby, Cassie Lassiter and Leslie Presley led the Lady Devils in hitting as they all went 2-4 from the plate. Katie Lambert, Joleccia Pearson, and Renee Wheeler each followed as they went 1-3 at the plate.
CassieLassiter earned the win on the mound for the Lady Devils. She pitched eight innings: allowing eight hits, four runs, five walks, and five strikeouts.
The Lady Devils' last game of the tournament was in the Championship game against the Robertsdale Golden Bears. The Lady Devils would go on to lose the game 11-1 but would finish in second place.
The Bears jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead after the game's first three innings and never looked back.
Leslie Presley and Makeyia Burt led the Lady Devils at the plate. Both Presley and Burt each went 1-2 with Presley scoring the Lady Devils only run and Burt hitting a double.
Presley took the loss on the mound for the Lady Devils. She pitched five innings: allowing eleven hits, eleven runs and had one strikeout.