Belles defeat Opp 19-0

Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 2, 2015

Belles starting pitcher Sydney Garrett pitched a perfect game and the offense kept rolling in the Belles 19-0 five-inning District Championship win over Opp in Greenville Tuesday night.

In the five innings of play, Garrett shut down the Opp offense all evening long with Opp players only reaching base with a walk and a batter hit by a pitch.

The performance of Garrett was just another well-pitched game for a member of the Belles pitching staff.

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Along with Garrett, Brooke Bennett and Molly Kate Sanders had a lot of success in the first two tournaments of the summer, said Belles head coach Larry Sanders.

“Pitching was very strong again, Sydney pitched a great game,” Sanders said. “She walked both the batters in the fifth inning.”

The Belles finished off the tournament in Greenville playing a very well rounded game to win the championship. Hitting, along with Garrett’s impeccable showing in the circle, once again took center stage.

The Belles offensive scored in all five innings Tuesday evening. After putting up the two runs in the first, the Belles offensive exploded in their half of the second inning scoring nine runs in the frame putting the game out of reach for Opp early.

The Belles finished the rest of the game scoring three runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth before the game was called after the top half of the fifth.

“We hit the ball really well tonight,” Sanders said. “Several of the girls got base hits tonight.”

There were several of the Belles players that finished the game with not only hits, but extra base hits as well.

Sidney Armstrong, Kelsey Gibson and Molly Kate Sanders all finished the game with a double. Kate Warrick also provided some extra base power Tuesday night. Providing the team with an inside-the-park homerun.

Danielle Brown also had a good night at the plate finishing the game going 3-4.

The recent offensive output by the Belles has provided the pitching staff and defense plenty of run support and has relieved a lot of pressure, Sanders said.

“We try to maintain an edge and keep the defense sharp. We try to eliminate our errors,” Sanders said. “When you eliminate errors you are usually pretty good. We have girls that can play multiple positions, and I always tell them they have to keep playing hard if they want to stay there.”

The success of the Belles this season could be attributed to the amount of experience that Sanders has on his rosters. Every girl on the Belles Roster plays high school softball in some capacity.

“Many of these girls have played with each other for many years,” Sanders said. “When you know each other it really pays off when it comes down to pressure situations. They all rely on each other and they have each others backs.”

The Belles will take the weekend off before heading back to practice on Monday to prepare for the State Tournament held in Enterprise, which will start July 10. The Belles will have a first round bye, but will start their tournament on July 11 facing the winner of Underwood and Montgomery-American.