SOFTBALL: East Laurens emerges on top of first go-round with Dublin

It was a small-ball sort of game for East Laurens and Dublin, who played a pitching-dominated game to open each other’s region schedules – also the Falcons’ regular-season debut – Tuesday afternoon on the Dub-side. 

East, breaking a scoreless game open in a couple of big innings, would wind up running away with it to win 12-0 in four. 

Both teams continue region 2-High a at home on Thursday: Dublin (1-2) against Southwest Macon, and the Falcons (1-0) versus Bleckley County. 

East Laurens led the game’s minimal hit tally 4-1, but couldn’t get much going in the first two innings against Dublin starter Caitlyn Nesbitt, who produced some contact and got the routine plays from her infielders (plus, a not-so-routine one on a great play to catch a runner at the plate attempting to score on a passed ball). 

Scarcely any of the game’s hits, altogether, left the infield. But the Falcons – upon finding the scoreboard in the third – began to put them in some problematic spots for the Irish to get to in time. 

A walk and hit-by-pitch laid the kindling for the East rally in the third, which continued as Erin Northcutt (on an RBI by Jayla Givens) and Deanna Lowther beat out fielder’s choice plays (one becoming an error) that Dublin couldn’t turn into outs as runners scampered home. 

Madison Coleman went to right with a single for two more RBIs on the biggest single swing of the inning to make it 4-0 before a fifth run scored via wild pitch. 

The Falcons, getting a 1-2-3 bottom half, came back to score the rest of their 12 in the fourth, as El Stubbs took over for Nesbitt in the circle. Lowther doubled early in the inning. Northcutt and Givens picked up additional RBIs later on. 

Deandrea Lowther struck out four and walked one in the win for East Laurens. The only Irish hit belonged to Stubbs, who combined with Nesbitt to walk four and strike out three. Dublin’s scoring determined all but two runs given up were unearned.