By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
LEEDS — The Green Wave got on the scoreboard early and held on late, taking a 4-2 victory over Hueytown here on Wednesday, March 23.
Senior shortstop Zoie Galloway powered the offense, going 3-for-3 and an RBI, while Emma Machen scattered five hits over seven innings in the circle, allowing two hits in the top of the seventh before Leeds was able to clinch. Katelyn Howard went 1-for-3 with a single and scored, while Kinlee Gilley went 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and a walk, and Sophie Sisk went 1-for-2 with a walk and also scored.
Machen took Hueytown down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and then capitalized on Golden Gopher mistakes when Sisk and Anna Sophia Gromko walked to start things off. Sisk advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored when Galloway singled to make it 1-0, Leeds.
Indya Rogers — in as a courtesy runner for Gromko — then advanced to third on an error by Hueytown shortstop Cassidy Burton and sprinted home on the same error to make it 2-0 for the Green Wave.
Leeds struck again in the bottom of the third when Maddie Payne hit a sacrifice fly to score Galloway and advance Howard to third base. Gilley then dug in at the plate to single and bring Howard home for a 4-0 lead.
In the Golden Gophers’ last chance, Hueytown didn’t go quietly. Freshman Bryanna Kemp singled to right, and then scored when Katelyn Lankford doubled on the second pitch she saw. Suddenly it was 4-1, and it looked like momentum was about to shift.
Instead, Machen bore down in the circle, inducing a ground-out to first and then striking out second baseman Morgan Rice. Lankford had moved to third on the ground-out, and scored when Faith Byram singled to left field to make it 4-2.
Machen, however, shut things down for good when she forced a pop-up to the circle, claiming the last out and securing the win.