Little’s three homer game highlights Bulldogs’ sweet weekend

Sweet Water (10-10) tangled with larger classification schools over the weekend, going 3-2 in the Tombigbee Classic.

Sweet Water 5, Thomasville 2

The Bulldogs opened the draw Friday night with a 5-2 win over long-time rival, Class 4A Thomasville. Lara Little swung the stick early and often to anchor the Sweet Water victory, homering three times in the contest.

Sara Irvin singled to start the game before Kamae Retic reached on an error. Little followed by hitting the second pitch she saw over the right field fence for the 3-0 Bulldog lead.

Thomasville climbed back into it with a two-run second inning, but Little was far from done. IN the top of the third, Little homered to center on a 2-2 pitch to make it 4-2 in favor of the Bulldogs. With two retired in the top of the fifth, Little made homered for the third straight at-bat when a solo shot to center on a 1-1 pitch for the 5-2 advantage.

Thea Luker made the lead stand up by striking out seven batters over five innings of work and allowing only five hits.

Avery Dement and Allie Newberry scored the Thomasville runs Brianna Crim had the lone Thomasville RBI.

Demopolis 6, Sweet Water 1

Sweet Water scuffled against in its second game Friday night, falling to No. 10 ranked Class 5A Demopolis 6-1. The Bulldogs gave up two runs in each of the first three innings while scoring its lone run in the top of the third when Little singled in Irvin.

Sweet Water tallied only five hits in the contest with two coming off the bat of Retic. Irvin, Little and Eva Myers each had a single in the game.

Sweet Water 8, Fruitdale 1

Sweet Water opened Saturday with a fury, downing Fruitdale 8-1. The Bulldogs scored three in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth for the win.

Myers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when she singled home Natalie Luker for the 1-0 lead. Two batters later, BreAnna Ramsey drove in Kora Myers on a RBI grounder. Eva Myers then stole home for the 3-0 lead.

Sweet Water moved the lead to 4-0 in the third when Kora Myers doubled in Luker. Kayla Marshall singled to ignite the fourth-inning rally before stealing second and third. Ramsey drove her in with a single to push it to 5-0. Lindsey Davis followed with a single of her own to score Ramsey. Three batters later, Little doubled home Davis to set the lead at 7-0. Luker then doubled in Little for the 8-0 advantage.

Fruitdale’s lone run came on a Sweet Water error in the top of the fifth, erasing Irvin’s shutout bid. She finished with 11 strikeouts and one hit surrendered over five innings of work for the win.

Sweet Water 7, Jackson 2

The Bulldogs followed with a 7-2 win over Jackson in a game that saw them score in all five innings of play. Irvin doubled to open the contest and later scored on an error. Eva Myers stroked a solo shot in the second to put Sweet Water up 2-0.

Retic later singled in Elaina Mitchell to stretch it to 3-0. Kora Myers scored on an error in the third to lead the Bulldogs up 4-0 on the Class 5A Aggies.

The lead moved to 5-0 in the fourth when Irvin drove in Davis with a sacrifice fly to right. After Jackson scored on an error in the home half of the fourth, Kora Myers got back to wirk with a double to plate Madison Smith for the 6-1 lead. Two batters later, Eva Myers singled home Kora Myers for the final Sweet Water run of the game.

Thea Luker picked up the win in the circle, striking out eight over five innings of work while scattering six hits and allowing one earned run.

Demopolis 7, Sweet Water 0

Sweet Water scuffled in its final game of the weekend, losing 7-0 to Demopolis. The Bulldogs gave up four runs in the first inning and three in the second, including homers to Bria Brown and Abbey Latham.

The Bulldogs could not muster the offense to counter, getting only two hits in the game. Irvin and Kora Myers each singled to account for the entirety of the Sweet Water offense.

Sweet Water 10, Choctaw County 0

The tournament marked six games in three days for Sweet Water after the Bulldogs pounded Choctaw County 10-0 Thursday night. Thea Luker was little shy of scintillating in that contest, striking out 10 over six innings of work while surrendering just one hit.

Irvin proved the catalyst out of the leadoff spot in the first inning, tripling to open the bottom half of the frame. Retic followed with a grounder to third to drive in the run. Little and Natalie Luker hit back-to-back singles before the former stole home on the front end of a double steal. The score remained 2-0 in favor of the Bulldogs until Irvin doubled home Mitchell in the bottom fo the second.

Davis stole home in the fourth to put Sweet Water up 4-0. Irvin then scored on an error to make it 5-0. Thea Luker stretched it to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth when she singled in Natalie Luker and Kora Myers. Three batters later, Irvin singled in Eva Myera and Mitchell. Kora Myers scored on an error in the sixth for the final run of the game.

Irvin highlighted the offensive showcase with a 4-for-4 day that included two doubles, a triple, a stolen base, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Sweet Water is scheduled to host Thomasville Monday before traveling to Fruitdale Tuesday.