Lady Trojans trounced by Stratford
Published 8:47 am Friday, September 13, 2024
- Stratford teammates congratulate Cordtney Galioa (20) on her no-doubt solo homer at John Milledge Tuesday. The long ball kicked off the day’s scoring in what became a 9-2 Stratford win.
What started as a pitchers’ duel turned into Stratford peppering John Milledge’s softball field Tuesday.
After a scoreless first three innings, the visiting Eaglettes plated nine runs in the last four frames to defeat the young Lady Trojan squad 9-2 in a district bout.
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The loss, the team’s fourth in a row, dropped JMA to below .500 (6-7) for the first time this season under first-year head coach and alumna Hollie Hart.
“We’re hitting the ball, we’re just hitting it to somebody every single time,” Hart said. “Stratford hit it too and was the better team than us today.”
To the head coach’s point, only three Lady Trojan batters struck out Tuesday. Besides five hits and one walk issued, the rest were all retired by Stratford’s error-free defense. Meanwhile the Eaglette bats totaled 10 hits on the afternoon.
Starting pitchers Addie Latimer for JMA and Taylor Monroe had the upper hand through the early going as only two hitters reached by the time the game reached three complete. The breakthrough came in the top of the fourth when Eaglette Cordtney Galioa, who’s listed as an eighth-grader on the team roster, blasted a no-doubt solo homer to left center to lead off the inning. Another run crossed later to give Stratford a 2-0 lead midway through the contest.
The host Lady Trojans answered in the bottom half as junior Kinley McLemore reached via single to lead off. Latimer sac bunted her over to second before senior Kylie Steinmeyer came within inches of tying the game. Her shot to deep right hit off the base of the fence and scored McLemore to cut the margin in half. John Milledge left runners on second and third though, as Monroe’s changeup sent a hitter back to the dugout after watching strike three.
The Eaglettes soared to five more runs in the fifth, all with two outs. Seniors Emma Jordan and Shamiya Raines had the big hits as Jordan beamed a laser off the fence in center and Raines went over in left with a two-run shot. The visitors from Macon plated two more in the seventh to get to their final tally.
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Sophomore Izzy Santarone knocked the other JMA run in with a single that hugged the left-field line to score Kaydee Griffin in the seventh.
“We still have a long ways to go, but we can get there as long as we don’t stop believing in ourselves,” Hart said after Tuesday’s game. “They’ll be OK. It’s a young team, so there’s a lot of improving and growing to do.”
As of Friday, John Milledge was fourth in the GIAA Class AAA power rankings, which will be used to seed the state championship tournament next month. Eight teams get in, so the Lady Trojans are well within where they need to be to at least make that cut.
John Milledge’s next test will be another tough one as seven-time defending state champ Westfield is scheduled to come to town Saturday in a 1 p.m. first pitch. Westfield took this season’s first meeting in Perry 8-0.