Lady Tiger season ends against Valley
TROY — Demopolis (16-15-1) was not without its chances Saturday in a 3-0 loss to Valley despite a 16-strikeout performance by Valley hurler Lexus Burrows.
Demopolis had base runners in five of the seven innings, but proved unable to capitalize in the contest.
Courtney Lawrence reached on an error and Victoria Washburn walked to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Demopolis continued to struggle with Burrows’ arsenal of pitches down to the final strike en route to the loss.
Burrows ended six of the seven innings with strikeouts while keeping the Lady Tiger bats silent on the day.
Demopolis’ best chance to break through came in the home half of the sixth when Zoe Lewis drew a walk and gave way to pinch runner Hanna Malone. Alexis Jones added an infield hit and Danielle Tatum reached on an error to load the bases before Burrows proved game in the toughest spot with a rally-killing strikeout.
The Lady Tigers stranded a runner in the fifth when Riley King was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. She used pitcher miscues to move into scoring position ended the frame standing on the base paths.
Demopolis left a runner in the fourth when Jones singled and gave way to courtesy runner Zarquashia Taylor, who was never able to advance beyond first.
King also drew a walk in the second and moved all the way to third on a pair of wild pitches before Burrows ended the frame on a strikeout.
Demopolis deviated from its Friday struggles by playing an error-free game, forcing Valley to earn each of its three runs. VHS took the lead with a solo homer in the third, used to singles and a steal to score one in the fifth and added one more in the sixth to cap the scoring.
The loss eliminates Demopolis from the Class 5A, South Central Regional and punctuates Demopolis’ season at 16-15-1. It also marks the final high school contest for seniors Alexis Jones, Zoe Lewis, Danielle Tatum, Courtney Lawrence, Olivia Brame, Sydney Colyar and Victoria Washburn.