The University Heights Academy softball team hit the field for the first time this season on Monday, getting off to a winning start with a 20-5 victory over visiting Dawson Springs.
The Lady Blazers won their opener for the first time since 2019 while sending the Lady Panthers to a fifth-straight defeat to start the season.
Katherine Wood got the start in the circle for UHA, and she sat down the Lady Panthers in order in the first inning. The Lady Blazers took the lead on a wild pitch in their first at-bat and doubled the advantage on Gracie Ausenbaugh’s RBI single. UHA tacked on a third run on a passed ball ahead of a triple by Emily Dilday.
Dawson Springs turned four walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches into four runs in the second, with Chayse Gilliland coming on in relief of Wood to get the final two outs of the inning.
UHA blew the game open with nine runs in its second at-bat, highlighted by an RBI single for Dilday and a two-run single by Wood.
The Lady Panthers got a run back on a wild pitch in the third before the Lady Blazers finished things off with eight more runs in the bottom of the frame. Gilliland’s RBI single was the only hit of the inning, with UHA taking advantage of four walks and five batters hit by pitches.
Gilliland got the win in the circle, allowing a single earned run with no hits, five walks, and a pair of strikeouts. Wood gave up four earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts.
Wood and Gilliland each finished with two RBI, and Dilday finished 2/2 at the plate with two runs driven in.
Tallie Robinson took the loss for the Lady Panthers, surrendering 20 earned runs on five hits with 12 walks and a strikeout.
UHA will hit the road on Tuesday to face Northwest, TN, while Dawson Springs will travel to McLean County for a doubleheader.
