DACULA, GA. - The Hebron Christian Academy softball team got back in the win column, after defeating region foe Franklin County 9-0 (5 inn.) at home yesterday, Sept. 9.
The Lions, who took their first loss of the season (Loganville, 9-8) last week, rebounded in a big way against Carnesville's Lions, knocking 10 hits, including two home runs by senior catcher Brittyn Sissom (2) and sophomore shortstop Juls Huber (4).
"We went to work after [the Loganville loss], had a couple hard practices, just really focusing on the small things that I felt we were overlooking. Tonight we got to see some of those things out on the field … just really made an atmosphere of work over the past few days, and it paid off out here," head coach Brittney Lewis said.
Against Loganville last Thursday, Sept. 4, the Lions went into the bottom of the seventh inning with an 8-4 lead, but allowed five runs in the final frame, losing by way of the walk off. Those nine runs were the most that Hebron's pitching staff had given up in a single game this season, four being the previous high.
However, junior Ainsley Trenbeath was stellar in the circle against Franklin, striking out three batters across five two-hit innings with no runs-allowed, and only 50 pitches thrown.
Trenbeath hasn't seen as much work in the circle as ace Kate Kennedy, but has become a strong No. 2 behind the sophomore.
"Ainsley did a great job in the circle … very efficient, and then we came out and hit the ball well," Lewis said.
Hebron's high-powered offense, which has 10 home runs this year, was led by the bats of Wofford commit Sissom and Huber, who combined for five hits, five runs-batted-in (RBI) and four runs-scored.Sissom's was a line-drive two-run shot lasered into right field during the bottom of the second, giving Hebron an 7-0 lead.
Before the game, Hebron had early-morning batting practice, and it certainly helped Sissom, who cracked the opposite field home run just one pitch into the at-bat.
"In [6 a.m.] practice, I was just working on staying low and letting the ball travel," Sissom said. "I knew [that] I wanted to go to the opposite field, so I just stayed back and it ended up going over."
Huber's was a high fly-ball to center field, which put the Lions ahead by nine in the bottom of the fourth.
Behind Sissom and Huber, junior Leah Jenson had two hits with one RBI, Freshman Rylie Walker had one knock with an RBI, and Senior Georgia State commit Lauren Kyranakis and junior Brylee Autry had one hit apiece.
The Lions started off strong against Franklin, scoring three in the bottom of the first after a scoreless top half from Trenbeath. Huber drove in Kyranakis on a single to take the initial 1-0 lead, then Sissom and Jenson added two more base hits to score two more.
In the bottom of the second, Kyranakis got on with another single, scoring Trenbeath. Huber later scored Kryanakis with two outs, then Sissom smacked the two-run homer, making the score 7-0.
Hebron later added two more runs, one on a single for Walker which scored Jenson, with the final blow being Huber's solo-shot.
The Lions will be back at Cole Complex this Thursday, Sept. 11, when they host Hart County at 5:30 p.m. They will then hit the road for a trip to Tennessee, where they will play Ringgold, George Walton Academy and Dade County in a SCORE Invitational at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tenn., featuring many Elite-Eight teams from last year's state tournaments.
The three games will stretch across Friday, Sept. 14 and Saturday, Sept. 15.
"This weekend will be good for us … you get an opportunity to see the best of the best and mix up with many classifications," Lewis said. "It's also a weekend for the girls to bond too, you see that out on the field, chemistry-wise after that trip every year, so we're excited to get up there and play."
