Griggs leads Louisburg to sweep of Prairie View

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 11, 2017

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Allyssa Griggs (8) earned the complete game victory in the Lady Cats’ home opener Friday at Lewis-Young Park. Griggs and the Lady Cats won 2-1 in the first game of the doubleheader and 6-5 in the nightcap.

The Louisburg High School softball team had to wait an extra day to play in its home opener, but it was well worth it for the Lady Cats.

Everything came together for Louisburg as it picked up its first win of the season in a two different fashions. The Lady Cats won a 2-1 pitcher’s dual in the opener and then followed it up with a 6-5 victory in the nightcap Friday at Lewis-Young Park to get the sweep of the Buffalos.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but had to be moved up a day as the fields were unplayable due to the recent rainfall. The delay didn’t seem to bother the Lady Cats much as they picked up their first wins of the season.

“I was very proud of the composure the girls demonstrated in both games, especially in game two when Prairie View loaded the bases with no outs,” Louisburg coach John Ozier said. “These were the games last year we had a tough time finishing. The girls seem to be supportive of each other, whether they make a dynamic play, or commit an error.”

Senior Allyssa Griggs carried Louisburg in the opener as she contributed with the bat and on the mound. Griggs pitched a complete game and held Prairie View to just one run on four hits to go along with eight strikeouts.

Griggs also had a big day at the plate as she broke open a scoreless game with a solo home run in the second inning and then reached on an error in the third to score teammate Madison Svoboda for a 2-0 lead. Griggs also had a single two innings later.

“Allyssa really demonstrated great senior leadership in her pitching and hitting,” Ozier said. “I thought my other seniors stepped up their game as well. Emalee Overbay called a great game, and had some critical stops with runners on base with some balls that were in the dirt. Hailey Crowder delivered a big hit later in the evening.”

Sophomore Molly Rison also had a double for the Lady Cats, while Karson Griggs, Kennia Hankinson and Emalee Overbay also had singles in the winning effort.

Sophomore Molly Rison sends a ball to the outfield Friday in the Lady Cats’ home opener at Lewis-Young Park.

Prairie View added a run in the sixth to cut the Louisburg lead in half, but Griggs struck out the side in the seventh inning to secure the win.

Offense became a more prominent feature in the second game as the Lady Cats (2-2) got on the board early with three runs in the second, a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to help build a big lead.

In the second inning, senior Hailey Crowder singled to score Hankinson, then one batter later, Karson Griggs singled to score Kayla Willey and Crowder to give Louisburg a 3-0 lead.

Prairie View added a run third, but Louisburg got that run back in the bottom of the fourth. Overbay singled home Willey after she led the inning off with a single.

The Buffalos cut the Louisburg lead to one in the top of the fifth, but Lady Cats used the long ball to extend their lead again. Rison hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the fifth in what turned out to be just enough offense for the win.

Prairie View scored two more times in the seventh after loading the bases with no outs, but Allyssa Griggs got the final out to get save. Freshman Allison Boles pitched 4 1/3 innings to keep the Lady Cats in the game before Griggs came on in relief.

“In the second game, we got out to a three run lead with Allie on the mound,” Ozier said. “When she ran out of gas, Allyssa stepped back in and finished things up. Obviously Molly’s home run gave us a huge lift since we were only up by one run at the time.”

Overbay and Griggs finished the game with a pair of hits each, while Karson Griggs and Rison each had 2 RBIs. Svoboda also had a double in the victory.