Lady Wolverines crowned district champions

Three different East Clarendon softball players hit homeruns and the Lady Wolverines gained 12 hits en route to a 10-0 victory over the Green Sea-Floyds Lady Trojans.

Lady Wolverines Kristin McElveen, Sheila Tomlinson and Danielle Welch delivered the three homers that propelled ECHS to the lopsided win.

The triumph gives the Lady Wolverines their sixth straight District VII Title.

“They’re just excited right now,” said Head Coach Lisa Ard. “The layoff for Spring Break must have come at the right time because we seem rested and ready to go. We hit well and hope that continues.”

Pitcher Kaitlin Alexander got the nod for the start and had a very solid game.

She pitched five innings with three strikeouts, allowed three hits and no runs.

The last time she pitched against the Lady Trojans, nothing was falling in her favor and she was pulled.

However, her stout performance shut down GSF this time around.

“It was perfect; she hit all spots,” Ard said. “She kept in control and everything was breaking. She was back on her game and ready to go.”

East Clarendon jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Following Tomlinson’s homerun over the left field fence, East Clarendon held a 3-0 cushion.

They brought in two more runs and led 5-0 after one.

The Lady Trojans had no chance in the top of the second as the ECHS defense retired the top three batters in a row.

Chelsea Byrd came up in the second and hit a single. She flew to second base on a sacrifice by McElveen and trotted to third when Tomlinson hit to left field.

Altman came up and fired a single that sent Byrd across the plate for a 6-0 Lady Wolverine lead.

Grayson Smith looked to add more runs to the board but her pop fly was caught to end the inning.

The Lady Trojans again went down three in a row in the top of the next inning including another strikeout from Alexander.

The inning was not as kind to ECHS as they did not score and had one hit.

However, the fourth inning is where they completely took the game away.

Byrd led off with a single and McElveen came up. Faced with a full count, she hammered a pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homerun that stretched the ECHS lead to 8-0.

Moments later, Altman was sent to first base on a walk. Danielle Welch came up and drilled a pitch over the same spot for the Lady Wolverines’ third homer of the day.

The two-run shot gave the Lady Wolverines a 10-0 lead.

East Clarendon played defense in the top of the next inning and gave up nothing, which ended the game.

Ard said the team’s stellar hitting has come from extra effort.

She said she is glad it is coming at a crucial time and expects it to continue as far as it can go.

“The girls have been practicing,” she said. “They have been staying after it. Right now, we’re seeing the proceeds of that extra work.”