Hawks overcome slow start
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Liberty pitcher Arianna Guzman and catcher Hailey Higginbotham celebrate the final out of Friday’s 5-4 victory over the Chowchilla Tribe.
The Liberty Hawks softball team honored its senior class in the best way possible after they battled through three errors for a 5-4 victory against the Chowchilla Tribe in a North Sequoia League game at Liberty
“They [seniors] were the stars of the team,” Liberty head coach Steve Uyeda said. “We had a really inexperienced ball club behind them and it was tough early on in the year, but they stick with it. They all matured and progressed and made it to the end.”
Behind seven hits, three runs and two RBI’s from Brianna Burgess, Karli Fien and Arianna Guzman, the Hawks took home a conference win on senior day.
The action picked up in the top of the third inning after a Tribe batter sent a shot to center field, banging off the wall. The opposing team got one run across, taking a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks answered back in the bottom of the third after Madison Devine drew a walk. Burgess followed up with a single, moving Devine over before Fien stepped up and belted a two-run single down the first base line for a 2-1 lead.
The Hawks scored again the bottom of the fourth after Shelby Ford drove in a run on a clutch two-out single.
The Tribe jumped back into the game an inning later after two Hawk errors allowed runners to score on consecutive plays to tie the game at three.
The Hawks took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning after an error on the opposing infielder allowed the Hawk runner to score.
The Hawks added to their lead after Devine hit an infield single, which drove in a run. The Hawks led 5-3 after five innings.
The Tribe added another run but the Hawks were able to get out of the inning.
