Tatum fans 16 in Lady Tiger win

Natalie Tatum scarcely allowed a ball to be put in play Tuesday night, striking out 16 Dallas County batters as Demopolis downed its area rival 9-2.

“That’s two area wins for us and it puts us in a really good spot to host the area tournament,” Demopolis coach Brittany Dunson said. “We have two more area games this week and once we seal the deal with those two, we’ll be hosting.”

The Lady Tigers jumped on the board early as Abbey Latham doubled in Jessica Adams in the first inning before scoring on a throwing error to make it 2-0. Latham struck again in the bottom of the second with a three-run double that plated Elly Brown, Holli Gandy and Courtney Smith. Kendall Hannah then singled in Latham for the 6-0 lead.

As Tatum struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced, Demopolis continued its early dominance with a Smith single to score Brown in the bottom of the third for a 7-0 Lady Tiger lead.

Dallas County altered its strategy in the top of the fourth as Lindsey McIlwain dropped down a bunt and beat the throw to first to break up Tatum’s no-hitter. McIlwain later scored on an error before Brittney Brown came home on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 7-2.

Demopolis got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth when Bria Brown scored on a Taylor Smith double that just missed leaving the park. The Lady Tigers added another run in the bottom of the sixth when Taylor Smith singled in Hannah to set the score at its final Tally.

“They’re hitting the ball well,” Tatum said of her team. “We’ve got to tighten up a little bit on defense. The pitchers are doing their job. The hitters are doing their job.”

Tatum limited the Lady Hornets to two hits in the game while surrendering two unearned runs and walking only one.

The Lady Tigers are set to return to action Wednesday at 4 p.m. when they visit Dallas County. Demopolis hosts Wilcox Central to close out area play Thursday at 5 p.m.