It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Cherokee can now relate to. They lost 11-3 to the Hackleburg Panthers on Tuesday. Cherokee has struggled against Hackleburg recently, as their game on Tuesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Cherokee saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carli Sparks, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Sparks has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On Hackleburg's side, Laine Steward spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Saylor Cooper, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. Braylynn Pope was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Cherokee's loss dropped their record down to 30-21. As for Hackleburg, they have been performing well recently as they've won 16 of their last 19 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 30-14-2 record this season.
Cherokee will head out on the road to face off against Lynn at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Cherokee's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so Lynn's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Hackleburg, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Waterloo at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams will come into the matchup having just posted big wins, so someone is set to suffer a big change in fortunes.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
