SOFTBALL: West Laurens bashes 19 hits in debut at GMC

West Laurens used a monumental 19 hits to blow the lid off its season softball opener Monday afternoon, defeating GMC Prep 16-3 in Milledgeville. 

The ballgame went a full seven, with the Raiders building a plenty comfortable lead through six shutout innings. But they’d add nine to their 7-0 advantage with a long string of additional hits and runs in last frame. 

GMC’s only scoring followed in the bottom of the seventh. 

Maggie Shea Lord and Jaylee Giles, with three hits each and a combined seven RBIs, did some of the most significant damage at the plate, though most of the Raiders’ lineup chipped in a hit or more to the effort. 

Maggie Shea Lord had key ones in the four-run first, driving in two with a single that doubled West’s initial 2-0 lead in the second, and picking up another pair of RBIs on a double late in the big seventh. 

Giles did the same, doubling to bring in a second of the four early runs, and crashing a third base hit for two RBIs a bit earlier in the final stanza. 

It was Audrey Lord who who pushed across the game’s first run with a double coming just ahead of Giles’, and Maggie Shea Lord’s double right up the gut. 

The Raiders were kept quiet in the early odd-numbered innings GMC’s Hannah Garner, but got their offense back rolling in the fourth with three runs. 

Maggie Shea Lord’s one-out single helped set the table for a double by Cheyann Phillips that stretched the lead to 6-0. 

A Bulldog error on the pop fly of Ava Collins kept the inning going and allowed Phillips to score a seventh run. 

West’s big finish in the seventh also included two hits by Maggie Marsh, a second of the game by Audrey Lord and one each by Kaylee Loyd, Jacely Hogan (a first of her Raider career), K.K. Wilson, Halley Nobles and Chandler Malone. 

Phillips, with a shutout through six in the circle, gave up only three hits, and just one  – a double by Garner – for extra bases. She struck out nine Bulldogs and walked seven. 

West Laurens was scheduled to return to action Wednesday on the road at Houston County. Its home opener will be Friday against Appling County.