Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:44 AM
Updated Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:44 AM
Lady Gators fall to West Florence, 5-0
The Lady Gators’ softball season came to a close with a 5-0 Region 7-AAAA playoff loss to West Florence at Goose Creek Tuesday.
“It was a disappointing way to end the season,” GCHS Head Coach Tracey Younts said. “We just didn’t have the right stuff out there tonight.”
Goose Creek fell behind early with a 2-run double by West Florence in the top of the second. GCHS’s Kenzy Jonason singled before two pop ups and a grounder to first retired the side.
The Lady Gators continued to struggle through the evening as West Florence pitcher Carson Summerset held Goose Creek to two hits in five innings, with two strikeouts.
“We weren’t putting runners on base and West Florence continued to get ahead of us,” Younts said. “West Florence is a really good team, but we weren’t playing to our full potential and it ended up costing us.”
Goose Creek pitcher Lyndsey Beard saw the end of her start in the top of the third after a Bruin double put two runners in scoring position. GCHS’s Kayla Beard attempted to close out the inning but a wild pitch allowed West Florence to score from third before the side was retired.
A stand up double by Goose Creek’s Maria Helms, who was 2-for-3 at the plate, put the Lady Gators in scoring position, but two ground outs and a pop fly to center ended their chance at putting runs on the board.
With a runner on third and no outs, West Florence hit a sacrifice fly to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the fifth. GCHS went three and out in the fifth before the Bruins took a 5-0 lead in the sixth.
The Lady Gators finished second in their region behind Stratford with a regular season record of 14-11. Younts said wins over Berkeley and rival Stratford made her proud of how her team has matured over the course of the season.
“We had our ups and downs this season,” Younts said. “We have a young team with only three seniors and we did a good job of bonding as a team and getting big victories over some tough competition.
“For some reason we just didn’t have the will to win tonight and that will be something we will have to work on for next season.”