BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School’s softball team scored six runs in the fourth inning and defeated host Bell 11-5 on Feb. 28.
The big inning for the Tigers (3-3) began Brooke Hunt walking and then advancing to second on Leanne Dicks’ sacrifice bunt. Mia Kent singled before a strikeout gave Union its second out. Emma Handley hit a two-run single, followed by a Mackenzie Orton single that scored another run. After Courtney Manning and Shyla Crowe both walked to load the bases, Campbell Webb hit a two-run single. Hunt came up to bat again, drawing a walk before Dicks hit a run-scoring single.
Handley and Webb went 3 for 4 and 2 for 4, respectively, with each driving in two runs.
Dicks also finished with two RBI.
Crowe, Hunt, Kent and Orton each had one RBI, with Hunt going 2 for 2 and Crowe going 2 for 4.
Handley pitched the final four innings in relief, giving up one unearned run and four hits, while striking out three.
The win capped a 2-1 week for the Tigers, which began with a 10-5 win over visiting Lafayette on Feb. 25.
Crowe and Webb hit a two-run single and a two-run double, respectively, as part of a five-run first inning.
Union led 7-4 before scoring three runs in the sixth, getting RBI singles from Manning and Orton and an RBI on a ground out by Webb.
Webb finished 2 for 4 with three RBI, while Orton was 2 for 3 with two RBI.
Crowe also had two RBI, while Dicks, Kent and Manning finished with one each.
Handley went 2 for 4.
Crowe pitched a complete game, allowing three earned runs.
On Feb. 27, the Tigers committed five errors in an 11-1 loss to host Trenton, which scored eight unearned runs.
Union was held to two hits, with Handley driving in the team’s lone run.
Handley started in the circle, giving up three earned runs and five hits through 3.1 innings. She had four strikeouts.
Union plays at North Marion on Tuesday, March 4, at 6 p.m. and will participate in the Santa Fe Raider Invitational on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex at 14300 N.W. 146th Terr. in Alachua. The Tigers play two games on March 7: versus Columbia at 6 p.m. and versus Bronson at 8 p.m.
The rest of the invitational schedule is to be determined.
On Tuesday, March 11, the Tigers host North Marion at 7 p.m.
