Twin Rivers split games at Neelyville

The Neelyville High School Tigers baseball and softball team hosted a doubleheader in Thursday’s matchup as they took on the Twin Rivers Royals.

While one team flourished with home-field advantage, the other would capture a tough loss.

The Lady Tigers reigned supreme as they pulled away from the Lady Royals late in the fifth inning with a 13-5 victory. The Tigers, however, suffered a 13-0 shutout at home, while the Royals picked up their third consecutive win.

Twin Rivers head baseball coach Chris Newman was pleased with the Royals’ aggressive play and their ability to connect with hits at the plate. He hopes to build on this win as they continue to find their groove.

“Overall, we hit the ball hard today,” Newman said. “They did miss some balls in the field, but offensively, we hit balls hard to put pressure on their defense, and we made sure to capitalize on it.”

The Royals didn’t waste any time as they caught fire early by connecting with multiple hits and finding their path past home plate off the series of errors from the Tigers. Sophomore Bo Lilly got things cooking at the plate for the Royals with a double fly ball to right field to bring in the second run for a 2-0 lead at the top of the first.

With their first swing at bat, the Tigers had an opportunity to make the game competitive, but sadly, it would be their only shot as the Royals exploded in the second inning, building a lead that was impossible to reclaim.

Starting pitcher Drew Solomon kicked off the run for the Royals with a single fly ball to left field, followed by a double from Lilly and another double from Bryce Dollins to earn a 9-0 lead to close out the second inning.

After a few more innings landing hits, it was evident that the Royals would coast to victory.

Soloman earned the win for Twin Rivers and allowed one hit and zero runs over five innings while striking out nine and walking one. Owen Conner took the loss for the Neelyville Tigers. They went three innings, allowing nine runs (one earned) on three hits, striking out one and walking three.

Lilly drove in four runs on two hits to lead Twin Rivers. He doubled in the first, scoring two, doubled in the second, scoring two, and hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth, scoring one.

Coach Newman said Lilly has been hitting the ball well for the Royals, and he currently leads the team in home runs. He said with Lilly at the fifth spot at the plate, he’s been doing exactly what he did for this matchup, which is drive-in runs.

“It’s a good team win,” Lilly said. “This week, we’re trying to do a lot since we’ve had a couple of rough losses in the past, but we’re doing our job this week and got another win. For me, I’m just trying to land the drive approach, and I’ve been popping up and grinding out a lot this week. I think we have to hit for us to keep this momentum going. Our defense will always be there, we just need to take care of business at the plate.”

Twin Rivers collected 11 hits in the game. Kendall Austin, Soloman, Lilly, and Dollins each collected two hits. The Royals stole four bases in the game and did not commit a single error.

SOFTBALL

Junior Resse Dobbins connected with a fly ball to center field during Thursday�s matchup against the Neelyville Lady Tigers.DAR/D'COURTLAND CHRISTIAN

Junior Resse Dobbins connected with a fly ball to center field during Thursday�s matchup against the Neelyville Lady Tigers.DAR/D'COURTLAND CHRISTIAN

The Lady Tigers and the Lady Royals both stepped onto the field with a full head of steam as each team wanted to build a lead early.

With first dibs at bat, the Lady Royals jumped out front with a quick 3-0 lead. Twin Rivers took advantage of an error from the Lady Tigers to get their first run. Sophomore Alexis

Parson connected on a single-line drive to right field to bring in a run, followed by a single from Layla Tompkins to add another run.

The Lady Tigers quickly responded with a double from senior Delayni Dobbins and a single fly ball to right field from junior Addison Couch, which helped the Neelyville take a 4-3 lead to close out the first inning.

After a few series of back-and-forth hits from both teams, the Lady Tigers would eventually pull away from Twin Rivers at the bottom of the fifth by collecting multiple hits to extend the lead.

“I feel like we’re getting better,” said Neelyville head softball coach Daniel Sexton. “I feel like we have yet to put a whole game together. We started out a little sluggish initially and made some mental errors, but overall, we’re improving a little. We’re slowly building our chemistry, so I’m very proud of them.”

Resse Dobbins collected three hits in five at bats for the Lady Tigers. Dobbins singled in the sixth inning, doubled in the first inning and doubled in the fourth inning.

Preslar earned the win for the Lady Tigers on the mound. The starting pitcher surrendered six hits and five runs (one earned) over seven innings, striking out 12 and walking one.

Neelyville collected 15 hits in the game. Jade Crosswhite and Dobbins were a force together in the lineup, as they each collected three hits for the Lady Tigers. Delayni Dobbins drove the middle of the lineup, leading Neelyville with three runs batted in, and Couch and Parker Ernst each collected multiple hits.

Parson went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Twin Rivers in hits. Vancil, Tompkins, and Parson each drove in one run for Twin Rivers.