GMC News
GMC Lady Bulldogs open the Dog Pit with 17-6 win
(Milledgeville, GA) The Georgia Military College high school softball team seemed to take to its new surroundings. After smiling for the obligatory opening-day photos, the No. 9-ranked Lady Bulldogs went on to defeat Twiggs County 17-6 in their inaugural game at the Dog Pit on Tuesday afternoon.
Kendall Castillo (7-2) was the winner on the mound, while Amanda Hall was 3-3 at the plate with five RBIs and Heather Hambey 2-3 with one RBI.
A blitz of offense and some poor pitching got the Lady Cobras into trouble early, as the Bulldogs opened the game with a nine-run first-inning effort.
When the Lady Cobras stepped out to defend in the second inning, the Twiggs County pitcher’s first four pitches sailed high and away. She eventually found the strike zone against Heather Hamby, but Hamby punished her for it and crushed the ball deep into the outfield for a RBI. Following a pair of walks that loaded the bases, a Whitney Davis hit drove in two runs and made the score 12-0.
It went from bad to worse for Twiggs County, as Jennifer Mixon, Hall and Haley Holloway all found the outfield and drove in runs. When the smoke cleared and the inning was over, it was 15-0 and Garry Couch, the GMC head coach, decided to sit Castillo and some of his other starters down. Speaking after the game, Couch explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“I didn’t think it would help them leaving them in,” he said. “And I wanted to put some of our younger kids in.”
GMC’s decision to make some changes and give its youth some playing time allowed Twiggs County to score five runs from as many hits to start the third inning. Encouraged by the rally, the Twiggs County pitcher displayed better control when she returned to the mound and Twiggs held the Lady Bulldogs to just two runs.
Eager to put the Cobras away, Couch brought in Mixon for his final pitching change.
Mixon allowed no hits, no runs and sat down two batters. Her Twiggs County counterpart helped the Lady Cobras hold the Lady Bulldogs scoreless for the first time all afternoon.
The Lady Cobras still had enough in them to capitalize on a GMC error and score a single run in the fifth, but thanks to Mixon’s hot hand, there was no rally to spoil the Lady Bulldogs’ party.
“We looked good for three innings and then we went a little flat,” Couch said. “In their defense, it’s hard to stay focussed when you’re beating a team by 15 runs, but I told them it’s their job to stay focused, no matter how long we play.”
GMC travel to Johnson County on Thursday for a 5 p.m. game.
