July 19, 2024
By Bradynn Belcher
CUMMING, Ga.— The Fury National 2024 Groenewoud secured a spot in the final four of the Triple Crown 18u Southeast Nationals after four innings of work by quelling the Lady Dukes National Premier 18u’s early threat on Friday afternoon at Midway Park.
The winner’s bracket game appeared to be a competitive contest when the Lady Dukes got on the board in the top of the first inning. Morgan Smith displayed her versatility by showing a bunt before pulling back and ripping the next pitch to center field. Lady Dukes standout Dallas Hill doubled to the fence in the next at bat of the game, scoring Smith.
At an early deficit, the Fury pressed on the gas and did not let up until the umpires called ball game in four short innings. The Fury scored eight runs in the bottom of the first, but the Lady Dukes did not help their cause as they surrendered five free bases credited to errors, walks, and hit by pitches. The Fury capitalized on crucial errors and turned over their lineup, giving their offense a critical advantage of driving Addison Jennings’ pitch count and challenging her with lengthy at-bats. Abby Herndon had a day, totaling three RBIs with a double and a single in the first inning alone.
Haylie Brooks, the starting hurler for the Fury, had the Lady Dukes wrapped around her finger in the top of the second. In a quick three-up three-down inning, The Fury National stayed in the driver’s seat. With runners on first and third without any outs, the Lady Dukes used a mound conference in hopes of stopping the Fury’s momentum. Brooks, who is a two-way player, did not let the pause in the game intimidate her as she got the scoring started in the bottom of the inning by tattooing a pitch to center field and scoring Mallory Ogle.
According to Brooks, her ability to see the strike zone from two different perspectives gives her a big advantage at the plate.
The Fury would tack on five more runs to threaten an early run rule with a score of 13-1, entering the top of the third inning.
Though they were trailing by an incredible margin, the Lady Dukes were determined to write their own story. Showing tenacity, the navy-blue team scored two runs with two outs. Finally back at the top of the lineup, Hill and Dallas used their knowledge from their previous at bats to earn free bases from Brooks. The next batter bunted, loading the bases with two outs. Lynette Hearing collected a timely line drive single to center field, scoring Hill. A pass ball on the next pitch allowed another run to cross the plate. Chipping away at the deficit, the Lady Dukes ended the top of the third inning better than they began, shifting the score to 13-3.
The teams matched one another through the bottom of the third and top of the fourth inning, ending the game early with a score of 14-4. From the Fury National 2024 Groenewoud squad, Hadley Gardner was two for two with an RBI. Brooks ended the day going two for three with two RBIs.
Though there were a few leaders offensively, Assistant Coach Allison Pedigo attributed her squad’s dominating performance to an all-out team win.
“I don’t think anyone had a standout game,” Pedigo said. “It was a really good team win. We played our game. [The Lady Dukes National Premier] are a really good hitting team, so we had to come out here and hit well, and we did that as a team.”
The Fury will live to see another day in the winner’s bracket. They are set to go head-to-head versus the Atlanta Vipers- Hargrave 18u on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Midway Park on field five. The Lady Dukes will have to battle out of the loser’s bracket for a chance to see the Fury again, beginning their fight on Saturday morning at 8:00a.m. on field six against the USSSA Pride- Lightning.
