BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Three players drove in two runs each, with Jaydin Alvarez doing so on a home run in the Union County High School softball team’s 10-0, five-inning win over Trinity Christian on April 7 at St. Johns River State College in Palatka.
Pitcher Shyla Crowe allowed four hits and no walks in a complete-game effort as the Tigers (12-5) won their fifth straight game. Union has won nine of its last 10.
Courtney Manning and Mackenzie Orton each drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Tigers then scored four in the second. Mia Kent reached on an error, while Alvarez hit a single. An error on an Emma Handley single allowed a run to score. Orton and Leanne Dicks each drove in a run on a single, while Manning drove in one on a ground out.
Alvarez, who went 2 for 3 with two RBI, hit a two-run homer in the third to make it an 8-0 game.
Manning and Orton each finished with two RBI, while Union got one RBI each from Dicks and Campbell Webb.
Crowe and Handley batted 2 for 3 and 2 for 4, respectively.
Union entered the game off a 12-0, five-inning win over Class 2A P.K. Yonge on April 1 in Gainesville.
Crowe earned the win in that game as well, allowing two hits and one walk, while striking out six.
A four-run second inning began with walks drawn by Crowe and Brooke Hunt. A Dicks double scored courtesy runner Autumn Burnette, while Hunt scored on a passed ball. After an Alvarez walk, Handley hit a two-run double.
Dicks, who went 3 for 3 with three RBI, hit a two-run single in the third to put the Tigers up 6-0.
Union scored all six of its remaining runs in the fourth. Alvarez singled, while Handley reached on an error. Orton then hit an RBI single before Manning batted two runs in with a double. An error on a Webb single allowed a run to score, while Crowe drove in another on a ground out.
A Hunt walk and a Dicks single kept the inning going. Alvarez reached on an error, which allowed the final run to score.
Handley and Manning each had two RBI, with Manning batting 2 for 3.
Crowe and Orton each finished with one RBI.
The Tigers host Trenton on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 p.m. and will host Bradford on Thursday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. Union then hosts Bell on Tuesday, April 15, at 6 p.m.
