Today this was on the front page of the Sumter Item. He is a great writer, and we are both learning how to play softball on our church Softball team. The above picture is him practicing at Rascals.
Lady Bears make it 3 in a row
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By CHARLIE WALLACE
Special To The Item
Make that three in a row for the Sumter Christian School softball team.
The Lady Bears pounded out 15 hits and 16 runs on their way to defeating Emmanuel Christian School of Hartsville 16-4 Saturday at Dillon Park to clinch its third consecutive SCACS 2A state championship.
"I was very pleased with the team, especially after yesterday only getting three runs and not really hitting the ball well and to come back today with 16," said SCS head coach Ron Davis, whose team beat Northside Christian 3-0 in Friday's semifinal game. "They were hitting the ball hard as our offense really came through today."
Freshman pitcher Ashley Dannelly allowed only five hits during the game, which was called after 4 ½ innings due to the 10-run rule.
"The defense had my back and I was confident in them and we hit the ball well today," Dannelly said.
Emmanuel Christian pushed across one run to take an early lead in the top of the first inning as catcher Courtney Sims blasted a triple to score shortstop Laney Williams.
The Lady Bears, who finish the year with an 18-1 record, answered in the bottom of the first with five straight singles to go ahead 4-1.
In the bottom of the second, Sumter Christian shortstop Brienne Alsbrooks hit an inside-the-park home run to spark another 4-run inning, as Sumter Christian found itself ahead 8-1 after two innings.
"We played really well," Alsbrooks said. "We really wanted it (the championship)."
In the third inning, the Lady Crusaders added three runs and were sparked by Sims' 2-run double to cut the lead to 8-4.
However, the Lady Bears had another big inning in the bottom of the third as they pushed across five more runs. Emmanuel gave them a little help in the inning by committing two key errors. Dannelly shut out the Crusaders over the final two innings as she retired the final six batters. She recorded six strikeouts for the game.
"Ashley pitched and did a super job and has come through for us many times," Davis said. "From the top to the bottom of the lineup, we got production from all nine players. It was truly a team effort."
"I think we played the best game we've ever played," centerfielder Ashleigh Johnson said. "We've never hit that well before and each of us played a part."
Johnson led the way for the Lady Bears by going 3-3 with three singles, a walk and an RBI.
"We were kind of scared coming into the game because we saw them (Emmanuel) beat Conway (Christian School 16-6) yesterday, but we really wanted the championship, especially the seniors," said catcher Amanda Alvis, herself a senior. "It feels really good to come out on top."
Alvis led SCS with three RBIs.
Alsbrooks, Dannelly and Alvis were the Lady Bears who made the all-tournament team. Williams, Casey Plummer and Sims made it from Emmanuel.
Not long after the game was done, SCS already had its designs on winning four titles in a row.
"We are looking forward to next year," Davis said. "We have six seniors, but both of our pitchers (Alsbrooks and Dannelly) are freshmen. I have a nucleus of five or six solid players so there will be a few openings next year that the girls will be competing for when we begin our practice."
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