North Splits In Opening Day Of Tourney

Kristen Adkins Pitches No-Hitter In Game 1 Win

BRYAN - The Lady Bulldogs went 1-1 in their first action of the season at the Bryan Softball tournament on Thursday.

North won its first game 9-0 over the Montgomery Lady Bears. The Lady Bulldogs then dropped a hard fought 2-1 decision to Fort Bend Clements in the nightcap.

Kristen Adkins was close to perfect in the first of two pool games that seed the 32-team field into brackets. She faced just one hitter over the minimum, allowing no hits and striking out five.

Montgomery’s lone base runner came in the bottom of the first on a hard hit ball that ricocheted off a North infielder’s glove into left field. Otherwise, the defense was solid and the Lady Bears never threatened.

The Lady Bulldogs got off to a roaring start at the plate, scoring five runs in their first at-bat of the season. Two more runs in the second and third innings closed out the scoring to give North a convincing victory.

North’s Lindsey Post went three-for-three, scoring twice and knocking in a run. Meghan Knowles had two hits, including a double and an RBI, while Katy Garvey added two hits - a double in the first inning that drove in two and a single in the fourth.

North faced off against one of the State’s best Class 5A squads in the second game. Clements is the No. 6-ranked 5A team in the state according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association. The Lady Bulldogs battled, but in the end, it was their defense that let them down.

Adkins set the first three Clements’ batters down in order, but things got tougher in the second. A single,  a sacrifice bunt and another walk loaded the bases with one out. Third baseman Kathy Shelton helped avoid further damage with a play on a ball to her left to get the force out at home. Adkins followed with one of her five strikeouts to get out of the inning.

A leadoff single in the third followed by a bunt and a single resulted in Clements’ first run and put the Lady Bulldogs in a one-run hole.

North battled back to even the score in the fifth. Hannah Moseley walked and stole second with two outs, while Shelton managed an infield hit, diving headlong into first. Post followed and collected her fourth hit of the night, plating Moseley and tying the score at 1-1.

A defensive mistake in the sixth cost North. Clements’ leadoff batter popped up into shallow center, but no one from North could make a play on the ball. That hit turned into the winning run. A sacrifice bunt and a single in the outfield that was misplayed allowed the runner to come home for the go-ahead run. 

The Lady Bulldogs will compete in the Silver bracket at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Game 1
                       R         H         E
North               9          10        1
Montgomery     0          0          4

Game 2
                        R         H         E
FB Clements     2          5          1
North                1          5          3