BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Three batters drove in two runs each as the Bradford High School softball team defeated visiting Bishop Snyder 12-4 on March 14.
The Tornadoes (3-6) held a 4-3 lead before scoring eight runs in the fourth. Bradford loaded the bases with one out on a Rylie Blankenship single, an error on a fly ball hit by Tinsley Higginbotham and a walk by Keegan Yowell. Summer Sutton drove in two runs on a single. Madison Highland, after Kallie Yowell was hit by a pitch, drew a bases-loaded walk, while Carly Beggs drove in another run on a ground out.
Beggs reached safely on an error, which kept the bases loaded. Kellsie Cochran hit a double to score two runs, while an Amber Wynn ground out made the score 11-3.
An error on a ground ball hit by Higginbotham pushed Bradford’s final run across.
Cochran, Highland and Sutton (2 for 5) each had two RBI, while Beggs, Wynn (2 for 4) and Keegan Yowell each had one.
Blankenship, who went 2 for 2, started in the circle, giving up four runs (two earned) and four hits through 5.1 innings.
Emy Crawford closed it out, allowing no hits and striking out three.
The previous week, Bradford went 0-2, beginning with a 16-2, five-inning loss to host Middleburg on March 7.
Bradford took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Addyson Hinds. It was one of just two hits for the Tornadoes.
Starting pitcher Blankenship held Middleburg to one hit through the first two innings, but the Broncos had five in the third, scoring six runs to take a 6-2 lead.
The Tornadoes were held to two hits again in a 10-0 loss to host Baldwin on March 8.
It was the second straight loss for Bradford, which saw the streak continue in an 11-8 loss to host Yulee on March 11. Yulee hit two home runs in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs that proved to be the difference.
Bradford got a two-run double from Higginbotham, which put the Tornadoes up 6-5 in the top of the fourth. The Hornets answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Higginbotham went 3 for 4 with two RBI. Highland went 2 for 3, while Blankenship, Hinds and Keegan Yowell each went 2 for 4. Hinds hit a two-run homer and had three RBI overall, while Blankenship drove in one run.
Sutton had one RBI.
The three-game losing streak was snapped on March 12, with Hinds hitting a two-run homer that helped Bradford defeat visiting Interlachen 11-1 in five innings on March 12.
Keegan Yowell pitched a complete game, giving up three hits and no walks.
Bradford had a seven-run first inning that included RBI singles by Higginbotham and Keegan Yowell and an RBI double by Blankenship. Wynn drive in a run on a ground out, while another three scored on two errors.
Keegan Yowell led off the bottom of the fourth with a double before Hinds hit her homer. The inning also included runs scored on a single by Beggs and an error.
Hinds, who also hit a double, and Keegan Yowell each finished 3 for 3, with Hinds driving in two runs. Blankenship went 3 for 4 with an RBI.
Beggs, Higginbotham and Wynn each had one RBI.
The Tornadoes host Branford on Monday, March 18, at 7 p.m. and will host Orange Park on Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m. Bradford travels to play Keystone on Monday, March 25, at 7 p.m.
