By Thomas Grant Jr.
This past weekend at Carolina Softball Field served as a host site for a Lake Murray softball reunion.
When not getting hits, University of Georgia Sarah Gordon was fielding those off the bats of fellow Lexington graduate Karley Shelton and former White Knoll rival and teammate Lexi Winters with the University of South Carolina.
Rounding out the local players in action was Lady Bulldog freshman Precious Bross of Irmo who was used as a pinch runner.
It all made for a competitive 3-game series this weekend.
With former high school coach Lauren Epps and current Lexington players in the stands, Gordon drove in three RBI to lead Georgia to a 7-3 win in the opener.
“It was a fun night for sure,” Gordon said. “Just to be home and having some of my high school out for support. It was a great night and I’m just glad that people were able to come out and I’m grateful to be here.”
“Today was really good,” said Bross, who had a stolen base after entering the game as a pinch runner. “Being in the atmosphere. I love being in Columbia. But it was so fun being with the girls I’m with and the team I’m with and I’m glad we came out here and were competitive today.”
“Definitely having the whole Lexington softball team come out and support means a lot,” Shelton said. “I definitely created some great friendships in Lexington and it was great to have their support tonight. It was awesome having everyone there, including Coach Epps.”
Gordon reached base three hits in finishing 2-3 at the plate. She had a 2-run triple and scored on a single by Jaydyn Goodwin to give the Lady Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.
Winters put the Gamecocks on the board in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI sacrifice fly caught by Gordon.
With the score 6-2 in the sixth inning, Gordon added insurance when she blasted a solo home run over the leftfield wall. It was something Winters has witnessed as an opponent and teammate many times dating back to her middle school days.
“Playing with Sarah, against her, with her,” Winters said. “I played summer league softball with her for awhile and just seeing how much she has seen success and evolved over the years it’s just really cool to see.”
Shelton scored the Gamecocks’ final run in the seventh on a triple by Emma Salters.
Despite a fifth straight loss and dropping to 0-4 in the SEC, both she and Winters remained optimistic about the team’s prospects for the rest of the season.
“We had a tough first SEC weekend and we played the number one team in the country (Oklahoma) and I think we put a good battle against them,” said Winters referring to the three games each lost by one run. “I think we definitely showed what we’re capable of and I think right now we’re just working through different things as any other team would. It’s just extra highlighted because of the success we previously had. There’s plenty of other teams who are also trying to flip the script. We continue to stick with one another and push through, then we’ll get the results that we want.”
“SEC conference play is long,” Shelton said. “There’s many games and we’re just at the start. So it doesn’t mean anything. We’re ready. We’re there. We’re going to be at each other’s side and we’re going to work back into it and we’re going to be resilient and really work hard and push and be there for everyone.”
The duo backed up their words by leading the Gamecocks to two straight wins to take the series. In Game Two, Georgia rallied to tie the game but Winters, who had another RBI sacrifice fly, singled to load the bases.
Abigail Knight followed with an RBI walk off single for the 4-3 win.
The rubber match saw Georgia take a 2-0 lead. With Gordon playing first base after two straight games in rightfield, Shelton beat her to the bag on an RBI infield single to start a 3-run rally.
Down 3-2 with two outs in the Top 7th, Gordon came to the plate. She ended up flying out to end the game.
