Emma Gourley and Mattie Lewis hit back-to-back solo home runs and Gracie Giddens threw a six-inning complete game in the CCA Lady Patriots’ 11-3 win over the Trinity Christian Crusaders Tuesday at Patriot Field in Douglas. Gourley’s was an inside the park homer while Lewis’s, her fifth of the year, cleared the left field wall.
CCA jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and added a run in the third, three in the fourth, and three in the sixth to defeat the Crusaders in six innings.
The Lady Patriots were up 5-1 when Arabelle Roberts and Brilynn Waldron opened the fourth inning with singles. Roberts stole second during Waldron’s at-bat and advanced to third on her single. She stole home one batter later to put CCA up 6-1. However, a double play cleared the bases and left the Lady Patriots with two outs. Gourley, however, extended the inning with an inside the park home run on a line drive to right. Then Lewis, fresh off her two home run performance against David Emanuel Academy last week, left the park on the first pitch she saw to give CCA an 8-1 advantage.
Trinity made it 8-3 with two in the sixth. Then the Lady Patriots went back to work. Gourley led off the bottom of the sixth being hit by a pitch. Then Lewis doubled, scoring Gourley and putting CCA up 9-2. Peighton Harper ended the game when she hit a hard ground ball to short and reached on an error. The play scored Lily Waldron and Bleu Carter. Their runs gave the Lady Patriots an eight-run lead (11-3) and invoked the eight-run mercy rule.
Gourley was 2-3 with three runs and three RBI. Lewis was 2-3 with a run and two RBI. Giddens dispatched the Crusaders with a 90-pitch complete game, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits. She struck out six and didn’t walk anyone. Giddens was also 3-3 at the plate.
The Lady Patriots are 11-3 and face the Twiggs Academy Trojans in Douglas at 4 p.m. on Thursday.