Powell Valley girls hammer Lady Bulldogs
BRIAN STOUT / Sports Writer

BIG STONE GAP "? Host Powell Valley got another one-hitter from their star pitcher Marie Chandler as the Lady Vikings crushed Appalachia 18-1 for a Lonesome Pine District softball win Wednesday night.

Powell Valley (8-2, 4-0) nailed down the 15-run slaughter rule when catcher Cassie Sturgill smacked a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. The Lady Vikings hammered out 14 hits to hand the Lady Bulldogs (4-8, 2-1) their first district loss.

"(Appalachia) played good for three or four innings,"? Powell Valley coach Paul Clendenon said. "Some bad things happened. It just kind of snowballed for them. It'll probably be a different game next time.

"I thought we played good again,"? said Clendenon. "We'll try to get better on little things and the big things will take care of their selves."?

Chandler (4-0) fanned 14, walked only two batters, allowed only six Appalachia runners and gave up the one earned run in her complete game win for the Lady Vikings.

"I try to stay mentally focused and just worry about hitting my spots and boosting my team up,"? said Chandler. "We need to not get ahead of ourselves and take it one game at a time."?

Sturgill went one for four at the plate and finished the evening with four RBIs after the walk-off blast. Chandler went 3-for-5 in the game with a run and four RBIs.

First baseman Kaylla Holdway also had a big night at the plate for the Lady Vikings by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run while Mandy Blanton went 2-for-2 with a stolen base and three runs.

Chabrae Roark scored fours runs for Powell Valley after going 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk. Erica Gilliam came off the bench and scored three runs while Kelsey Long and Cassie Chadwell each scored twice for Powell Valley.

Roark walked on four pitches in the bottom of the first inning and scored the game's first run on a single by Chandler. Holdway singled to score Chadwell as the Lady Vikings opened a 2-0 early lead.

Appalachia got a run in the top of the third inning when outfielder Elizabeth Barker reached on a catcher interference call to start the inning and later scored on a ground ball out by Lindsie Stacy.

The Powell Valley girls rallied for six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Blanton doubled deep into the gap in left with two out to begin the assault. Blanton scored when Roark blooped a soft single just over the bag at first base. Long scored another run on a wild pitch before Chandler singled in Roark and Sturgill walked with the bases loaded to score Chadwell.

Ashley Broyles singled to bring around courtesy runner Gilliam and Holdway as the Lady Vikings enjoyed an 8-1 margin.

The Lady Viking squad put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Roark doubled to score Blanton and Long scored again on a Chadwell single to put the Lady Vikings up 10-1.

After Roark scored on a groundout, Holdway doubled to left field to score Gilliam as the Lady Vikings took a 12-1 advantage.

The bottom of the sixth saw the Lady Vikings get red hot again. Rachel Thompson scored on an error, Chandler singled to score Blanton, and a Holdway sacrifice fly plated Roark as Powell Valley jumped out to a 15-1 lead.

Gilliam and Blanton each scored when Sturgill connected for her game ending home run to finish the game at 18-1 in favor of the Lady Vikings.

"I just knew that I needed to hit it,"? said Sturgill. "I was in there with a 0-2 count and she gave me a pitch that I could hit."?

Chelsea Boyd (3-4) took the loss for Appalachia after pitching 3 2/3 innings and Erica Boggs came on and threw 2 1/3 innings for the Lady Bulldogs.

"We hung in for a couple of innings,"? said Appalachia coach Mark Williams. "We just couldn't stay away for the big inning. They put the bat on the ball. They're fundamentally sound. They don't do anything to hurt themselves.

"We've played seven ballgames in six days. We might be a little bit tired, but that is no excuse. We still have to come ready to play."?