The Gallatin Lady Bulldogs opened the 2021 softball season in dramatic fashion on Saturday, winning three games in the heat and steam of late August, including a thrilling 5-4 extra-inning win over Princeton to take the title in an all-Grand River Conference eight-team event.
Gallatin trailed the Lady Tigers 4-2 in the 5th inning, before AnnaBelle Ball ignited a Bulldog rally with an RBI base-hit. Abigail Burns knocked in the tying run to even the contest at 4. The game stayed tied up through 7 innings, sending the contest into international tie-break rules. Gallatin took the lead with a base knock by Betty Rogers scoring the ghost runner, Alex Endicott. In the bottom of the 8th, Ball did the pitching for Gallatin, and was able to retire the Tigers without the tying run scoring, with a foul pop and a game-ending strikeout among the highlights.
Despite the loss in the title game, Princeton had an overall solid day, going 2-1 with a quarterfinal round victory over King City 3-1, and a semifinal win over a gritty North Andrew squad, 6-5. Gallatin reached the final with a 9-3 early morning win over the host Albany Warriors, followed by a 13-8 semifinal scoring-fest against Stanberry.
Other scores from the 9th annual Bill Hill Memorial Tournament at Albany were:
QUARTERFINALS:
North Andrew 7, North Harrison 5
Stanberry 10, Worth County 8
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS:
North Harrison 6, King City 3
Worth County 13, Albany 5
7th PLACE:
King City 6, Albany 5
5th PLACE:
Worth County 6, North Harrison 3
3rd PLACE:
North Andrew 11, Stanberry 3
In other Saturday action, Milan rallied in its season opener, defeating the Brashear Lady Tigers in a game that was moved to the mid-morning hours due to the searing heat and humidity, with the final score 5-4.
Carrollton’s Lady Trojans took the title in the Marshall softball tournament, defeating the host Lady Owls in Saturday’s title game, 17-6. Scores from the Brunswick/Keytesville/Northwestern tournament on Saturday included Bevier 5, Higbee 1; Bevier 8, Meadville 1; and Tina-Avalon 13, Bevier 2.
