July 19, 2024
By Bradynn Belcher
CUMMING, Ga.— A fearless offensive attack guided the Atlanta Vipers- Hargrave to a monstrous 12-0 win over Firecrackers Georgia 07- Payne to begin bracket play at the Triple Crown 18u Southeast Nationals on Friday afternoon. In a venomous three inning conquest, Jenna Meder’s three run blast set the tone for the entire game early in the second inning. After seeing the Florida Southern signee slither around the bases, it was clear that the softball would spend the majority of the contest landing in the outfield.
The Vipers jumped on the Firecrackers early in the bottom of the first inning by scraping together three hits coupled with three walks to gain a 3-0 lead. With two outs and bases loaded, the Firecrackers’ starting hurler Anna Valentine limited the damage by striking out Tessa Anderson with a drop ball that fell into the zone at the last second.
Valentine tried to ignite a fuze that she hoped would carry over offensively for her team. For a moment, it appeared that she was successful when the Firecrackers’ catcher Avery Heidt doubled to the right field fence in the top of the second inning. However, the Vipers’ own Mittie O’Brien took that hit personally and decided to blow out any spark that Valentine ignited. The starting pitcher struck out the next batter with her venomous changeup, consequently ending the inning as well as diminishing her opponent’s hopes of rattling her.
“I have a lot of confidence in my defense behind me and [Coach Paul Hargrave’s] pitch calling,” O’Brien said. “I’m successful because of them in games like this.”
With the bats back in the Vipers’ hands, the green team kicked off the the inning that ultimately doomed the Firecrackers with two triples, an infield single, and two walks making the score a quick 5-0. With bases loaded, a pass ball would send Meder to the plate with runners on second and third. After shaking her head at a few pitches, Meder tattoos a ball over the left field fence, carding three RBIs on her personal stat line and running away with the game at 9-0.
According to Meder, this home run meant more to her than many of her others.
“This is my last travel tournament, so I am hoping to end it with a bang,” Meder said. “I felt relaxed, and I was seeing the ball really well, so I am excited to see how this carries over for the rest of the tournament.”
The scoring did not stop with Meder as the Vipers used every last bit of momentum they had to scratch across to more runs to end the second inning at 11-0.
The Firecrackers were unable to light up their bats in the top of the third inning, allowing the Vipers an opportunity to end the game early. Cate Conway became the final run of the game for the Vipers, scoring on a fielder’s choice.
The Vipers totaled 11 hits on the day with O’Brien sitting down three batters in a short three innings of work. Vipers Head Coach Paul Hargrave credits today’s dominating win to the team’s all-out effort in their last tournament of the year.
“We took an approach that we are going to be aggressive in the box early this game and it paid dividends,” Hargrave said.
