October 3, 2012. Playing at home in a best-of-three game series, the Pope Lady Greyhounds swept a doubleheader over the Creekview Lady Grizzlies, thus winning the Region 7-AAAAA Championship. It was the first ever Region Championship for the Pope Fastpitch Program.

Game 1. As she had done all season, sophomore pitcher Kelly Barnhill led the way to a 5-2 victory. She pitched the complete 7-iining game, striking out 12 batters while giving up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 hit batter. The defense provided momentum right at the beginning. Barnhill walked the first batter of the game, and the runner advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. The second batter struck out, but strike three got past catcher Laura Beall. She made a quick recovery to nip the batter at first, and then completed a double play when first baseman Sydney Segers fired the ball back home, allowing Beall to tag the runner attempting to score all the way from 2nd. Beall’s hustle and perfect execution turned a potential 1st and 3rd, no out situation into a bases empty, 2 out situation. The Lady Hounds then jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their half of the 1st inning without the benefit of a base hit. The key play in the inning was a sacrifice bunt by Ellie Viland. On the play, Jenna Reilly was able to advance from first to third when the throw to first base was errant. Reilly then scored on Beall’s groundout. After 4 innings, Pope had built a 5-0 lead. The offense was spearheaded by Segers (3 for 3 with 2 doubles) and Barnhill (2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s). Creekview came back with single runs in the 5th and 6th, but Barnhill maintained control of the game, as she did not allow the tying run to come to the plate.

Game 2. Barnhill was on top of her game again, shutting out the Lady Grizzlies for 7 innings. However, this time the Creekview pitcher was also able to keep the Lady Greyhounds off the scoreboard, so the game went to extra innings. Pope was batting first this game, and started the 8th inning with a runner on 2nd base (tie-breaker rule). The first two batters of the inning, Laura Miller and Jenna Reilly, each put down sacrifice bunts, but the Creekview defense failed to convert either one into a putout, allowing Pope to load the bases with no outs. Ellie Viland then roped a double to right center, driving in 2 runs. Laura Beall and Megan Metzinger each followed with RBI sacrifice bunts, giving Pope 4 runs in the inning on just 1 hit and 4 sacrifice bunts. That was plenty for Barnhill. Creekview was able to score its tie-breaker runner from 2nd base, but again was unable to bring the tying run to the plate. Barnhill’s final line was 8 innings pitched, no earned runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, and 16 strikeouts. Ellie Viland was the offensive standout in the 4-1 victory. In addition to driving in the game winning runs, Viland had 3 of Pope’s 4 hits in the game.

Of note: In the doubleheader, Creekview was able to put the ball in play more times than most of Barnhill’s previous opponents. The infield defense came through, as 3rd baseman Jenna Reilly, SS Ellie Viland, and 2nd baseman Laura Miller each converted a difficult chance into a putout. The Region Championship gives Pope home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the State Playoffs. To advance to round two, Pope must win next week in its best-of-three series versus the number 4 seed from Region 6-AAAAA.

September 27, 2012. In its final regular season game, Pope beat visiting River Ridge High School by a score of 10-1. It was the team’s 4th consecutive victory, and 14th win in its last 15 games. Lindsay Walsh pitched the 6-inning complete game, striking out 4 and walking none. The defense backed her up with an errorless game that included 2 nice running catches by leftfielder Megan Metzinger.

Metzinger was hot at the plate as well, going 2 for 2 with 3 RBI’s in the first two innings, leading the Lady Hounds to a 5-1 lead. Pope ended the game with 4 runs in the 6th inning. Jenna Reilly and Ellie Viland also had big games offensively. Reilly was 3 for 4 with a triple, and Viland was 3 for 3 plus a sacrifice squeeze bunt.

Pope (20-5, 8-2) will play next week for the Region Championship in a best-of-three game series.

September 26, 2012. In their final region game of the season, the Pope Lady Greyhounds beat visiting Northview High School by a score of 10-0. The victory sealed a spot for Pope in next week’s region championship series. For the second consecutive night, pitcher Kelly Barnhill tossed a complete game no-hitter. In 5 innings she recorded 14 strikeouts and walked just 1. She struck out 4 batters in the 4th inning when one reached on a dropped 3rd strike.

n the 1st inning, Laura Beall line drive cleared the high left field fence for a 3-run homer. After scoring 1 in the 3rd inning, the Lady Hounds broke the game open with 6 runs in the 4th. Beall added a double to finish the game 2 for 3 with 4 RBI’s. Jenna Reilly, Sydney Segers, and Kelly Barnhill also had multiple-hit games.

Of note: Prior to this Senior Night game, Pope seniors Laura Beall, Laura Miller, and Jenna Reilly were honored.

Pope (19-5, 8-2) will complete its regular season schedule at home on 9/27/12 against River Ridge.

September 25, 2012. The Pope Lady Greyhounds visited Creekview High School to play the Lady Grizzlies in a region game showdown that was very important for both teams’ chances at the region title. The Lady Hounds prevailed 3-0 behind pitcher Kelly Barnhill’s complete game no-hitter, the 4th no-hitter in her last 5 games. In 7 innings she struck out 18, walked 3, and hit a batter. Only 3 batters managed to put the ball in play, one of whom reached base on an error in the 4th inning. That baserunner was thrown out by catcher Laura Beall on an attempted steal of 2nd base.

The Pope offense got off to a quick start with 4 hits and a sacrifice hit in the first 5 batters, including an RBI single by Megan Metzinger. However, the Lady Greyhounds came away with just the one run in the 1st inning, leaving the bases loaded. Pope struck again in the 2nd inning with a leadoff triple off the top of the right centerfield fence by Ellyn Strother, followed by an RBI single by Laura Miller. The Lady Hounds completed the game’s scoring in the 3rd inning, scratching out its final run without the benefit of a base hit. Ellie Viland had the only multiple-hit game for Pope, going 2 for 3 with a sacrifice bunt.

Pope (18-5, 7-2) will complete its region schedule at home on 9/26/12 against Northview.

September 22, 2012. Yesterday and today, the Lady Greyhounds played 5 games in a round robin format in the Milton Tournament held at North Park in Alpharetta. The other teams in Pope’s group were: Alpharetta High School; Evans High School; Camden County High School; Milton High School; Forsyth Central High School.

Game 1 (9/21/12, 4:00 PM). Pope beat Alpharetta by a score of 2-0. Lindsay Walsh pitched the complete game shutout, yielding 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. With the tying runs on base, she struck out the final batter of the game. The offense scored all of its runs with 2 out. In the 2nd inning with 2 out, Ellyn Strother singled to advance Megan Metzinger from 1st base to 3rd base, from where she was able to score on a wild pitch. In the 6th inning, Sydney Segers drove in a run with a clutch 2-out single. Of note: Walsh has now pitched 14 consecutive scoreless innings. The defense supported her with an errorless game, the 5th out of its last 6 games played. Laura Beall had the only multiple hit game for the Lady Hounds, going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles.

Game 2 (9/22/12, 8:30 AM). The Lady Greyhounds won in exciting fashion, scoring on the game’s final play to beat Evans by a score of 2-1. Lindsay Walsh pitched another complete game. In 5 innings she gave up 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Pope senior Jenna Reilly cleared the left field fence with a high fly to tie the game at 1-1. With the game still at 1-1 in the bottom of the 5th and final (due to time) inning, Reilly was at 2nd base with 2 out, and batter Megan Metzinger was down to her final strike. Metzinger came through with a clutch RBI line single to center to end the game. Of note: The Evans run scored in the 3rd inning, ending Walsh’s streak of 16 consecutive shutout innings. At game’s end, she still had a streak going of 19 consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run. Reilly had the only multiple hit game for Pope – the homerun and a single to start the winning inning.

Game 3 (9/22/12, 12:00 Noon). Pope won its 10th consecutive game, topping Camden County by a score of 4-0. The Lady Greyhounds once again scored all their runs with 2 out, this time all in the 1st inning. Ellyn Strother drew a bases loaded walk, and then Kelly Barnhill followed with a line drive double to clear the bases. The 4 runs were plenty, as Barnhill proceeded to hurl her 3rd consecutive no-hit complete game. In 6 innings she struck out 15, walked 2, and hit a batter. Of note: This game extended Barnhill’s consecutive scoreless innings streak to 31. Once again, Laura Beall had the only multiple hit game for the Greyhounds, going 2 for 3.

Game 4 (9/22/12, 3:30 PM). In a pitchers’ duel, Milton High School beat Pope by a score of 2-0, snapping the team’s 10-game win streak. Pitcher Kelly Barnhill had a shutout through 3 innings, running her consecutive scoreless innings streak to 34. In the 4th inning, a hit, walk, and stolen base put Milton runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. The fourth batter in the lineup for Milton came through with a clutch single to score both runners. It was all Milton needed, as the Lady Hound offense was kept at bay with just 3 hits in 5 innings. Barnhill pitched the complete game, giving up just 2 hits while striking out 10 and walking 3 in four and two-thirds innings (game called in the 5th inning due to time).

Game 5 (9/22/12, 6:30 PM). Pope beat Forsyth Central for the 2nd time in three days, winning by a score of 8-4. The Lady Greyhounds jumped out 3-0 in the bottom of the 1st, highlighted by Laura Beall’s RBI double and Ellyn Strother’s RBI triple. Forsyth Central scored 4 times in the 3rd inning, ending Pope pitcher Lindsay Walsh’s streak of consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run at 21. After Pope tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the 3rd, Walsh started a new streak, holding Forsyth Central scoreless in the 4th. The Lady Hounds exploded in their half of the 4th. The first 8 batters of the inning produced 7 hits and 1 sacrifice hit to score 4 times. Jenna Reilly had a long double off the fence, inches short of a homerun. Megan Metzinger hit a long, 2-RBI double to right centerfield. Walsh set down Forsyth Central 1-2-3 in the 5th inning to complete the game. She finished with 4 strikeouts and no walks. On offense, Laura Beall finished 3 for 3 with 2 doubles. Ellie Viland and Ellyn Strother each had 2 hits.

The Lady Greyhound’s 4-1 tournament record brought home the second place trophy, with Milton High School taking first. Junior Lindsay Walsh and Sophomore Kelly Barnhill provided excellent pitching throughout the tournament, and were backed by solid team defense. Senior Laura Beall was outstanding at the plate, finishing 9 for 14 with 4 doubles.

Pope (17-5, 6-2) will travel to Creekview High School for its next game on 9/25/12.

September 20, 2012. Displaying clutch pitching and clutch hitting the Pope Lady Greyhounds won their 7th straight game by a score of 14-0 over home team Forsyth Central High School. Sophomore Kelly Barnhill tossed her 2nd consecutive no-hitter, striking out 17 and walking 2 in 7 innings. The game was closer than the final score indicated, as Pope led by just 5-0 after 6 innings.

The Lady Hounds hit in the clutch, scoring 1 in the 1st inning and 4 in the 2nd, all with 2 outs. Megan Metzinger had the clutch 2-out single in the 1st inning. In the 2nd inning with 2 out, Jenna Reilly hit a triple to deep right center to drive in 2 runs, and Laura Beall drove in a run with a double. Beall finished the game with 3 hits, as did Sydney Segers. Metzinger, Reilly, Barnhill, and Ellyn Strother each had 2 hits.

The Lady Greyhounds (13-4, 6-2) will participate in the Milton Tournament at North Park in Alpharetta on 9/21/12 and 9/22/12.

September 18, 2012. Playing at home, the Pope Lady Greyhounds shutout Cambridge High School 12-0 for their 6th consecutive victory. Kelly Barnhill pitched a complete game no-hitter, striking out 11 batters and walking 4 in 5 innings. Two of the walks occurred in the final inning. Pope catcher Laura Beall teamed with shortstop Ellie Viland to throw out both of those runners when each attempted to advance to 2nd base on potential passed balls. This was Pope’s 4th straight game without committing an error.

Beall also starred on offense, going 3 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI’s. Ellyn Strother was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s. Sydney Segers was 3 for 3, and Ellie Viland and Jenna Reilly each had 2 hits.

The Lady Greyhounds (12-4, 5-2) will visit Forsyth Central for their next game on 9/20/12.

September 12, 2012. Playing on the road, the Pope Lady Greyhounds topped Osborne High School by a score of 16-3, winning their 5th straight game. The Lady Hounds used 4 different pitchers in the game. Starting pitcher Kelly Barnhill recorded 4 strikeouts in the 1st inning when one batter reached base on a dropped 3rd strike. Each making their Pope Varsity pitching debuts, Lauren Lattizori pitched the 2nd inning and Ellyn Strother pitched the 3rd and 4th. Lindsay Walsh pitched the 5th inning to finish the game.

Pope iced the game in the 1st inning with 11 runs. Eleven different Lady Hound players reached base during the game, eight of them multiple times.

Next up, the Lady Greyhounds (11-4, 4-2) will play at home on 9/18/12 against Cambridge High School.

September 12, 2012. The Pope Lady Greyhounds beat visiting rival Walton High School by a score of 9-0. It was their second straight shutout. This time it was Lindsay Walsh with the 5-inning complete game, striking out 8 while giving up 3 hits and no walks.

Leading by just 1-0, the Lady Hounds broke the game open with 4 runs in each of the 3rd and 4th innings. For Pope: Megan Metzinger was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s; Laura Beall was 2 for 2 with a walk and an RBI; and Ellyn Strother was 1 for 2 with a double, walk, and 2 RBI’s.

For their next game, the Lady Greyhounds (10-4, 3-2) will travel to Osborne High School tomorrow, 9/13/12.

September 11, 2012. Playing at home, the Pope Lady Greyhounds beat Riverwood High School by a score of 10-0. Kelly Barnhill pitched the 5-inning complete game shutout, allowing only 3 baserunners while striking out 11. In the 2nd inning, first baseman Sydney Segers started a nice 3-4-3 putout on a difficult grounder that ricocheted off of her to second baseman Laura Miller.

Pope put the game away early, scoring 9 runs in the first two innings. Leading the offense were Ellie Viland (2 for 2 with a triple and an RBI), Laura Beall (2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s), and Megan Metzinger (2 for 3 with a double and an RBI).

The Lady Greyhounds (9-4, 3-2) play again tomorrow at home against Walton High School.

September 7, 2012. Last night the Pope Lady Greyhounds played at home against the Allatoona Lady Buccaneers. In the bottom of the 6th inning, a hard line drive foul into the visitors dugout struck a player in the head. She left the school in an ambulance. The report today was good news, as the current diagnosis is a minor head injury, and it appears she is okay.

The game did not resume. At the time of the injury, Pope was trailing 5-4, but had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. As this was a non-region game that had no official impact on either team’s season, the teams agreed to each count the game as a victory --- Pope by virtue of forfeit, Allatoona by virtue of having the lead. The statistics from the game will be counted.

For Pope, Ellyn Strother was 3 for 3. Jenna Reilly, Laura Beall, and Sydney Segers each had 2 hits. Pitcher Lindsay Walsh, making a rare appearance in the batting order, had a clutch 2-out, 2-RBI single in the 2nd inning to tie the game 2-2.

Walsh pitched all 6 innings, striking out 1 while walking 4 (1 intentional). Allatoona led 5-3 after 4 innings. Walsh pitched out of bases loaded jams in both the 5th and 6th innings to keep Pope in the game.

Next for the Lady Greyhounds (8-4, 2-2) is a region game at home against Riverwood on September 11.

September 5, 2012. The Pope Lady Greyhounds beat the home team Blessed Trinity Titans in 8 innings by a score of 2-1. Kelly Barnhill dominated in the circle, striking out 21 batters. In the 8th inning, Barnhill struck out the final 2 batters of the game with the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on 2nd. Along with the 21 strikeouts, Barnhill allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks.

Barnhill’s effort was needed, as the Blessed Trinity pitcher did a great job of limiting the Pope offense. The Titans scratched out an unearned run in the 1st. Pope’s Sydney Segers tied the game in the 4th with a clutch 2-out RBI single. With one out in the 8th inning, Laura Miller singled to drive home what proved to be the winning run.

Next up for the Lady Greyhounds (7-4, 2-2) are the Allatoona Lady Buccaneers on September 6.

August 30, 2012. In a very hard fought contest, the home team Pope Lady Greyhounds lost to the Cherokee Lady Warriors by a score of 5-4. Trailing 3-2 and down to their final out in the bottom of the 7th inning, Pope caught a break when Kelly Barnhill scored from 3rd base on an errant pickoff throw by the Cherokee catcher, sending the game into extra innings. Tie-breaker rules started each half-inning of the extra time with a runner on 2nd base. Both teams plated its runner in the 8th inning, but only Cherokee was able to get the runner home in the 9th.

Lindsay Walsh pitched the complete game, giving up just 2 earned runs in the 9 innings. Walsh forced the Lady Warriors to put the ball in play, as she walked only 3 batters (one semi-intentional) out of the 40 she faced, while striking out 2. She combined with the Pope defense to strand 10 runners, 6 in scoring position.

Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th inning, the Lady Hounds opened the inning with singles by Ellie Viland and Laura Beall. The runs eventually scored on Megan Metzinger’s squeeze bunt and Kelly Barnhill’s infield single. The 3-2 score held until the Cherokee error in the 7th inning tied the game. In the 8th inning, Pope matched Cherokee’s run with a squeeze bunt by Ellie Viland, but was unable to stay even in the 9th. Viland finished the game 1 for 1 in 5 plate appearances, including 2 sacrifices, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and 2 stolen bases.

Next up for the Lady Greyhounds (6-4, 2-2) is a visit to Blessed Trinity to play the Titans on September 5.

August 27, 2012. The home team Pope Lady Greyhounds rallied in the final innings to turn a tie game into an 11-6 victory over Sequoyah High School. Tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 5th inning with 2 out and none on, Quentin Staton hit a high fly off the left field fence for a double, and then scored on Kelly Barnhill’s line drive double off the right centerfield fence. Holding on to the 7-6 lead entering the bottom of the 6th inning, the Lady Hounds put the game away with 4 more runs on 5 base hits.

Playing in her first game of the season following off-season knee surgery, Laura Beall made a triumphant return to the Lady Greyhound lineup. In the first inning she doubled to drive in the team’s first run. In the 2nd inning she came to bat with 2 on, 2 out, and Pope trailing 4-3. She promptly lined the first pitch over the left centerfield fence for a 3-run homer and a 6-4 lead. Beall finished the game 3 for 4 with 5 RBI’s. Jenna Reilly also was 3 for 4 on the night.

Kelly Barnhill earned the complete game victory, striking out 17 and walking 4. Despite striking out 17 times, a battling Sequoyah offense kept their team in the game, scoring all 6 of its runs in the first 4 innings when there were 2 outs.

The Lady Greyhounds (6-3, 1-2) next game is at home versus Cherokee High School on August 30.

August 23, 2012. For the second consecutive time on the road, the Pope Lady Greyhounds found themselves on the short end in a tough game, losing to the Sprayberry Lady Yellow Jackets by a score of 5-4.

A couple of infield miscues allowed Pope to score a run in each of the first two innings. Sprayberry scraped for 2 unearned runs off of starting pitcher Kelly Barnhill to tie the game in the 2nd inning, plus scored 2 more runs (1 unearned) in the 3rd inning to take a 4-2 lead. Lindsay Walsh relieved Barnhill to procure the final out of the 3rd, and then pitched brilliantly the rest of the way, allowing Pope to tie the game with single runs in each of the 4th and 5th innings. Sprayberry finally scored a run off of Walsh with 2 out in the 6th inning, and that proved to be the game-winner.

It was another frustrating game for the offense. The Lady Hounds left 11 on base, 7 in scoring postion. There were some very hard hit balls for outs. Sydney Segers rocketed a line drive right at the centerfielder to end the 6th inning with a runner on third. In the 5th inning, Megan Metzinger’s hard liner back at the pitcher turned into a double play. That play came right after a scorching line drive single by Segers off of Sprayberry pitcher Charley Smith’s leg. Smith needed a few minutes to valiantly shake it off and regain her composure. She demonstrated her recovery by converting Metzinger’s liner into a DP.

Of note: Segers, Ellie Viland, and Quentin Staton finished the game with 2 hits apiece. Lindsay Walsh’s final line was one run in 3 and 1/3 innings pitched while striking out 3 and walking 2 (one intentionally). Kelly Barnhill’s final line was 2 and 2/3 innings pitched, 4 runs (1 earned), 1 hit (infield), 6 strikeouts, 5 walks, and 1 hit batter. In the 7th inning, Megan Metzinger alertly went from 1st to 3rd on a Barnhill sacrifice bunt out, sliding in to just beat the tag.

Looking to get back in the win column, the Lady Greyhounds (5-3, 1-2) will host Sequoyah High School at Pope on August 27.

August 21, 2012. At Pope High School, it was a historical night for the Pope Fastpitch Softball program. Prior to the game, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the newly renovated softball field. Numerous entities and individuals who put forth effort over the last few years to bring forth these wonderful improvements were introduced and acknowledged in front of a very large and appreciative audience.

The fans were then witness to an extremely rare accomplishment. Pitching a region game against the North Springs Spartans, sophomore Kelly Barnhill hurled a perfect game, striking out all 12 batters she faced. The Lady Hounds won 14-0 in a game that ended after the top of the fourth inning via the run-rule.

The offense hit the ball hard. In the first inning, Sydney Segers hit a towering homerun to left center, way out of the park. Sydney also had a double and 3 RBI’s. Ellyn Strother was 2 for 3 with 4 RBI’s, and Megan Metzinger was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI’s, a walk, and a stolen base.

The Lady Greyhounds (5-2, 1-1) next game is at Sprayberry High School on August 23.

August 16, 2012. Playing at Kell High School, the Pope Lady Greyhounds (4-2, 0-1) suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Lady Longhorns. Pope scored twice in the 1st inning on only one hit. In the 2nd inning, Pope loaded the bases with no out, but came out of the inning with just one run. That result came back to haunt the Lady Hounds. They held a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out in the fifth, Kell had runners on 2nd and 3rd via two walks and a wild pitch. The next batter hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Jenna Reilly, who cagily made enough of a motion towards first to lure the runner off of third. Even though the runner was only a few feet from the base, Reilly’s agility and quickness allowed her to apply the tag just before the player scurried back to the bag. Now runners were at 1st and 2nd with two out, and it appeared this heads-up play was going to get Pope out of the inning with the lead. But another wild pitch advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd, followed by a hard hit single up the middle to score both runs. The Greyhounds put runners on base in each of the final two innings, but could not get them home. The game ended when Kelly Barnhill rocketed a line drive to the third baseman who was able to double off the runner at first.

It was a frustrating game for Pope. Kelly Barnhill pitched the complete game. In six innings she struck out 12, walked 4, and yielded only 3 hits. Kell made each hit count. An infield single in the 1st inning moved a runner to third, who then scored on a sac fly. A leadoff single in the 4th inning eventually scored on a passed ball. And finally the 2-RBI single in the 5th inning.

Offensively, Pope left 8 runners on base of which 6 were in scoring position. Jenna Reilly continued to reach base, going 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a stolen base. Lauren Palace was 2 for 3 with a stolen base.

The Lady Hounds look to get back on track vs North Springs at Pope on August 21.

August 15, 2012. At Wheeler High School, the Pope Lady Greyhounds (4-1, 0-0) won their regular season opening game by a score of 9-1 vs the Wildcats. The Lady Hounds out-hit and out-fielded their opponent. Pope scored in each one of the six innings played. Jenna Reilly had four hits including a homerun over the centerfield wall to continue her torrid start to the season, having now reached base safely 13 times in her first 15 plate appearances. Megan Metzinger contributed three hits to the cause and Freshman Quentin Staton chipped in 2 hits and 2 RBI’s.

Lindsey Walsh earned the complete game victory, striking out eight while walking just one to run her record to 3-0.

Next up for the Pope will be a visit to Kell to play the Longhorns on August 16.

In the Silver Division finals, the Lady Hounds beat Mt. Pisagh by a score of 5-0. Kelly Barnhill was totally dominant, pitching a six-inning complete game, one-hit shutout. She had 12 strikeouts and no walks, facing 19 batters, just one over the minimum. She lost the perfect game in the fourth inning on a dying quail to left field, hit off of a changeup. Of the nine batters prior to the hit, eight struck out. Ellie Viland provided RBI singles in the 3rd and 5th innings to pace the offense. Of note: In the four game tournament, Jenna Reilly had 11 plate appearances and reached base safely 9 times via hit or walk.

Pope topped East Paulding in the first bracket game on Saturday by a score of 7-3. With two out and no score in the second inning, seven consecutive Greyhounds reached base on five hits and two walks, producing all seven runs. The big blows were 2-RBI singles by each of Ellie Viland and Megan Metzinger, and Kelly Barnhill’s RBI triple off the centerfield wall. Lindsey Walsh struck out four batters enroute to another five-inning complete game victory. Of note: On a line drive in the 3rd inning, centerfielder Quentin Staton made a spectacular diving backhanded catch for the putout.

Pope lost 1-0 in the second game vs North Paulding. Kelly Barnhill pitched a 5-inning complete game, allowing just one hit while striking out 13 batters. Unfortunately, the offense went totally dormant. Jenna Reilly had a single and a walk, but was the sole Greyhound to reach base. The loss following the win placed Pope into the Silver Division for Saturday’s bracket play. Of note: 1) The lone run came in the first inning without a base hit. The leadoff batter struck out on a 3-2 pitch, but was awarded first base as the field ump signaled it was an illegal pitch. She stole second, advanced to third on a groundball out, and scored on a wild pitch. 2) Jenna Reilly was perfect in the Friday doubleheader with three hits and two walks in her five plate appearances.

Pope won the first game vs Sprayberry with an exciting finish. The Hounds trailed 2-0 with two out and two on in its final at bat when a Sprayberry infield error kept the inning alive. Pope took advantage, as Kelly Barnhill smacked a line drive over the centerfielder for a game-tying double, which was immediately followed by Sydney Segers single, winning the game 3-2. Lindsey Walsh earned the five-inning complete game victory, yielding three hits and three walks while striking out seven. Of note: 1) Jenna Reilly’s 3rd inning line drive stuck in the netting above the wall just to the right of the 250 foot sign in centerfield. It was ruled a double per the ground rules, and she ultimately was left stranded. 2) In the top of the 4th inning with a 1-0 lead, Sprayberry hit a one-out, bases-loaded single to center. Quentin Staton rocketed a perfect throw to catcher Hayley Roberson to easily nail the runner attempting to score from second. This big play allowed Pope to escape the inning down only 2-0.

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