Team Florida Ponytails record second shutout
By: Shelia Mader
Team Florida kept it rolling Sunday morning when they took the field against Grant Parish. They handed them a 10-0 shutout and moved to 2-0 in World Series play. The team showed no sign of looking ahead or behind, coming off a 15-0 shutout the previous night and knowing they had a slate of games ahead of them. The pitching duo of Kate Barton and Olivia Speers combined for a perfect game – no hits, walks, errors, or runs, with 11 strikeouts out of 12 possibilities.
Kate Barton had the starting job in the circle. Barton threw three perfect innings, striking out eight of the nine batters she faced. An infield groundout to second was the only ball to touch the diamond. Olivia Speers closed out the fourth and final inning, striking out the side.
Offensively, Team Florida plated three runs in the first inning, beginning with a leadoff single by Barton. With two outs, Brynley Lipford singled up the middle advancing Barton to second. An error allowed Barton to advance to third before Georgia Adams singled down the third base line to score Barton and advance Lipford to third. Adyson Brown followed suit with a drive down the left side, capped off with an error that allowed Lipford and Adams to cross the plate. Brown stole second before a flyout to short ended the inning with Team Florida leading 3-0.
In the bottom of the second frame, Isabella Wood tripled to deep right field to lead things off. With one out, Wood scored on an infield single by Macy Kent before back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning with Team Florida leading 4-0.
In the third inning, four runs crossed the plate for Team Florida. Kate Barton led off with a single to right field and immediately stole second. With one out, Aynzley Smith doubled to left center, scoring Barton. Brynley Lipford waited patiently for a walk with a double steal for Smith and Lipford following. Georgia Adams followed suit with a walk to load the bases. Smith scored on a passed ball before Adyson Brown singled down the third-base line to score Lipford. SJ Carter had a sac fly to the pitcher that scored Adams before Isabella Wood found an extra gear for an RBI double to deep left field. A fly out to first ended the inning with Team Florida leading 9-0.
Team Florida’s final run came in the fourth inning, giving them a 10-0 lead and ending the game on the mercy rule. Macy Kent led things off with a walk and stole second. Arielle Dickens followed with a walk putting runners at first and second. With one out, Kate Barton made it a three-for-three day with a game-ending double that scored Kent.