CLARKSBURG – Kailey Hart pitched a complete game five-inning shutout as she helped lead the Buckhannon-Upshur softball Lady Bucs to an 8-0 road victory over Liberty Tuesday evening.
Hart allowed just four hits and one walk and struck out two in the victory which was the third in a row for the Lady Bucs.
“Kailey did a great job in the circle,” remarked Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Levi Bender. “She doesn’t have overpowering stuff yet so she just let her defense do the work. She only had the two strikeouts, but she only had the one walk which is huge for a pitcher. She limited and scattered their four hits.”
The Lady Bucs didn’t make an error in the game while Liberty committed five.
“We played a cleaner ball game and took advantage of their defense of miscues,” said Bender. “We were much better running the bases as well and were more aggressive.”
The Lady Bucs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a one-run double by Alyssa Abel and a one-run single by Quinn Burnside.
A three-run outburst in the top of the second inning gave the Lady Bucs a 5-0 advantage.
Sophie Lantz and Reese Curry each scored on an error in the top of the third for a 7-0 lead.
Buckhannon-Upshur scored the game’s final fun in the top of the fifth when Taylor Spratt reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a double by Abel.
Abel led the B-U offense with three hits while Spratt, Hart and Lantz each had two.
“I feel like we hit the ball better today and we attacked pitches early that were in our zone and if we got into two strike counts, we fought and battled again,” said Bender. “They are showing a lot of maturity and for such a young team, that’s a great sign moving forward for. I’m very, very proud of their effort, as they should be.”
Nobody on the Liberty roster had a multi-hit game.
“It was a well-rounded game for us,” stated Bender. “Our girls put together every facet of the game which is what a ball club should look like.”
The Lady Bucs improved to 3-1 on the year.
They will be back in action Thursday hosting Fairmont Senior at 5:30 p.m.
The boxscore:
Buckhannon-Upshur 232 01 – 8
Liberty 000 00 – 0
E – Buckhannon-Upshur 0; Liberty 5. DP – None. LoB – Buckhannon-Upshur 8; Liberty 5. 2B – Abel 2, Spratt, Crock, Ford. Sac. – Curry.
Hitting
Buckhannon-Upshur – Jansen Kimble 2b, 4 1 0 0; Taylor Spratt 1b, 4 3 2 0; Kailey Hart p, 4 0 2 2; Alyssa Abel c, 4 1 3 2; Quinn Burnside eh, 3 0 1 1; Reagan Mason 3b, 2 0 1 0; Katarah Linger ss, 3 0 0 0; Sophie Lantz lf, 3 2 2 0; Reese Curry cf, 2 1 0 0; Emmalee Cottrell cr, 0 0 0 0; Shaylee Hebb rf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 29 8 11 5.
Liberty – Destiny Coble p, 3 0 0 0; Kambre Crock ss, 3 0 1 0; Charlee Johnson 3b-rf,2 0 0 0; Bella Herrod 1b, 2 0 1 0; Makiah Ford c, 0 1 0; Riley Pearlmaneh-rf-3b, 1 0 0 0; Savannah Weekley eh-lf, 2 0 0 0; Kylie Swiger 2b, 2 0 1 0; Kadence Crock cf. 2 0 0 0. Totals 18 0 4 0.
Pitching
Buckhannon-Upshur – Hart (W): 5 innings, 4 hits 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts.
Liberty – Coble (L): 5 innings, 11 hits, 8 runs, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts.
