The White County High School softball team saw a familiar opponent—and delivered a familiar result.
Facing Upperman for the second time in the same week, the Warriorettes once again handled business in convincing fashion. This time it came on the road, where White County piled up 14 hits, jumped out early, and never let go in a 13-2 win Thursday night.
White County wasted no time setting the tone. Bianca Villano worked a leadoff walk in the first, and two pitches later Addison Finley drove her home with a line drive double to left. After a pair of quick outs, Josslyn Wright kept the inning alive with an infield single that allowed Finley to score and push the lead to 2-0.
The Warriorettes added on in the second. Sophia Austin singled to start things off, and Villano followed with a well-placed sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position. Austin came home moments later when Upperman chose to go after Finley on an infield ground ball, leaving the lead runner unattended. Paizlee Taylor added to the pressure with a hard-hit ball deep enough in the hole to keep the Jackets from making a play, allowing another run to cross and stretch the lead to 4-0.
Upperman looked to answer in the bottom half with a leadoff walk, but White County quickly shut the door. Finley, behind the plate, picked off the runner at first, and Taylor handled the rest, striking out the next two batters to end the threat.
The game stayed quiet until the fourth inning—when it broke wide open.
White County sent a steady stream of runners to the plate, and Upperman couldn’t slow it down. A walk to Austin, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Dreu Segraves and an RBI double from Villano, started the surge. Singles from Finley, Taylor, and Bella Rosell-Diaz pushed more runs across. Wright added a double, Kinsley Randall delivered a single, and Carli Goines chipped in with an infield hit as the Warriorettes stretched the lead to 10-0.
And they weren’t done.
Austin reached again on an error, and Segraves’ groundout brought in another run. Villano capped the inning with a double that scored both Goines and Austin, pushing the advantage to 13-0.
Upperman managed to scratch across two runs in the bottom of the inning, using a White County error and a pair of singles, but the damage had long been done.
Taylor got the start in the circle and was in control throughout, working three innings while allowing just one hit and one walk. She struck out five of the 11 batters she faced. Kambrie Tayes handled the final inning, giving up two runs on two hits while facing six batters.
The win marks the third straight for the Warriorettes, who swept Upperman earlier in the week and blanked Overton County in between. White County will take the weekend off before heading to Warren County on Monday, then returning home for games against Prescott and Warren later in the week to close out the regular season.
WHITE COUNTY BOX SCORE:
HITS: Kinsley Randall 3, Bianca Villano 2, Addison Finley 2, Paizlee Taylor 2, Josslyn Wright 2, Bella Rosell-Diaz 1, Carli Goines 1, Sophia Austin 1
RUNS: Sophia Austin 3, Bianca Villano 2, Addison Finley 1, Bella Rosell-Diaz 1, Josslyn Wright 1, Carli Goines 1, Dreu Segraves 1
RBI: Bianca Villano 3, Addison Finley 2, Paizlee Taylor 2, Josslyn Wright 2, Bella Rosell-Diaz 1, Kinsley Randall 1, Carli Goines 1, Dreu Segraves 1
2B: Bianca Villano 2, Addison Finley, Josslyn Wright, Kinsley Randall
TB: Bianca Villano 4, Kinsley Randall 4, Addison Finley 3, Josslyn Wright 3, Paizlee Taylor 2, Bella Rosell-Diaz 1, Carli Goines 1, Sophia Austin 1
HBP: Bella Madden
SB: Bianca Villano, Kinsley Randall
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