JV Cats Finish Season With 8-6 Win at DAR
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough...Ain't No Valley Low Enough..."
The final stop of the 2008 JV Softball season for the Wildcats was high atop Grant Mountain at DAR High School. Fresh off their County Championship from the night before, the JV Cats were still flying high heading into the last hoo-rah of the year.
Jessy Baker and Deanna Creps each made it to first on a Patriot error--Baker would score to give the Cats a 1-0 lead in the first. Two leadoff Patriot walks resulted in a run to tie the game going into the 2nd.
Brooke Mashburn reached on another Patriot error and scored two batters later on a Sam Newman single to left field. DAR answered in their half of the second with a couple of runs on two hits and a Wildcat error and the Patriots claimed their first lead of the day, 3-2.
Guntersville scored 6 runs (Mashburn, Whitaker, Newman[Hardin pinch runner], Baker, Bannister, and Helton in the fourth inning on a couple of DAR errors and hits by Baker and Whitaker. Baker recorded an RBI, and Bannister and Helton each batted in a pair of runs. DAR answered with 3 in the last inning to end all scoring at 8-6, Guntersville.
Bryneth Buckner went the distance for Guntersville in the circle, recording a season high 12 strikeouts, giving up 6 (4 ER) runs on 4 hits and 4 walks on her way to her 6th win of the season.
| GUNTERSVILLE | ||||||
| Batting | ||||||
| PLAYER | HITS | AT BATS | RUNS SCORED | RBIs | HR (#) | |
| Jessy Baker | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Kaitlyn Bannister | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Brooke Mashburn | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Peyton Whitaker | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Sam Newman | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Crystal Helton | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Pitching | ||||||
| INNINGS PITCHED | HITS | RUNS | ER | K | BB | |
| Bryneth Buckner | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
This record-setting season, the JV Cats outscored their opponents 147-54 en-route to a 19-3 overall record. Mother Nature interfered with two of the scheduled tournaments, but the Cats came home with the Championship in each of the two tournaments they entered. Two weeks prior to the County Championship the Lady Wildcats claimed the Boaz High School Invitational Championship.
With an injury that sent Deanna Creps into a DP role for the season, the JV Cats relied on three other young guns to get the work done in the circle. Eighth grader Cara Lee Mason (spent most of her season on varsity) recorded 2 no-hitters on her way to a record of 3-1. She allowed 2 hits to North Jackson. Bryneth Buckner had two 1-hitters and finished with a 6-1 record. Kaitlyn Bannister threw two no-hitters (one in the County Semi-Finals), 4 one-hitters, and 1 two-hit game this season and led the JV Cats with a record of 10-1. Bannister blew away the competition in the county tournament, striking out 41 batters over the four game span (23 innings).
2008 was definitely a season to remember for the Guntersville Faithful. With the first (fastpitch) County Championship in school history, the future looks bright for the Guntersville...It's a Great Day to Be a Wildcat!