By By Matthew Nascone
The opening game of the All-Star Productions World Series Warm-Up 300 Point NIT was a good one for the Atmore Strike Force. The 10-year-old and under Strike Force defeated the Lightning 10-9 July 7 in Pace, Fla. at the Santa Rosa Sportsplex.
Penny Banda, Lacie Flowers, Brooke Presley, Peyton Snider and Brandy Homan each scored a run in the top of the first inning. The Lightning answered with two runs in their half of the inning to make the score 4-2.
Flowers and Snider scored in the third inning to stretch the Strike Force lead to 7-2, but the Lightning pushed four runs across to close the gap to 7-6 in the bottom of the third.
Cierra Caraway and Taylor Hill each scored in the fourth inning to give Atmore a little more breathing room at 9-6. Then the Lightning struck with three runs in the bottom of the inning to send the game to extra innings.
Flowers scored her third run of the game in the extra frame to give Atmore a 10-9 victory.
Southern Heat 13 – Strike Force 1
The second day of the World Series on July 8 was not as kind to the Strike Force as they dropped their game with Southern Heat 13-1.
Peyton Snider scored the lone run for Atmore and the Southern Heat scored in every inning but the first.
Xtreme Energy 14 – Strike Force 1
Atmore again struggled to score runs in the second game on July 8, as Peyton Snider was the lone runner to score for the Strike Force in their 14-1 defeat at the hands of the Xtreme Energy.
The Strike Force was only able to manage four base runners in three innings and the game was ended because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Southern Heat 11 – Strike Force 0
The Strike Force faced another tough day on the softball diamond July 9 as they lost to the Southern Heat for the second time during the weekend 11-0. Cierra Caraway reached base safely in both of her at bats for Atmore, but the Strike Force was again only able to get nine batters on base in the game.