BUFORD — The Lady Wolves opened their season with an appearance in the Rumble at the Ridge Tournament. Buford played four games between August 7 to 10 at home. They split the tournament with two wins and two losses.
In game one on August 7, Buford took the win 4-2 over Lambert. Senior Kara Taylor (2 RBIs) had a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to put Buford up 2-0 over Lambert. Abbi Perkins (1 RBI) hit a double in the bottom of the fourth that drove in Emma Castorri. In the bottom of the fifth, Castorri (1 RBI) singled allowing Emi Hall to score. The Lady Wolves are up 4-0 but Lambert answers back in the top of the sixth when they scored twice on two singles. That was all they could come up with as Hollifield records the win for Buford. Hollifield went five innings with two walks, one hit, and six strikeouts. Olivia Duncan gets the save for the Wolves.
Game two saw Forsyth Central just edge out Buford with a score of 3-2 on Thursday afternoon. Taylor Malvin and Taylor each earned an RBI against Forsyth Central. Five errors proved costly for the Lady Wolves. Two of the errors put players in position to score against Buford. The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to tournament time limits. Kaitlyn Pickens and Riley Reese were on the mound for Buford.
North Gwinnett gave Buford their second loss of the day with a win of 4-2 Thursday night. The game which started 30 minutes late got off to a good start with a home run from pitcher Hollifield (1 RBI) but North Gwinnett soon answered back with a three-run homer from freshman Jaylyn Benson (3 RBIs) in the top of the third inning. Buford immediately came back with a home run from Anabel Adams (1 RBI) but that would be all they could come up with against the Bulldogs. Grace Connelly added one more run to North’s lead with an RBI single. The game was called at the end of the fifth inning due to tournament time limits. Hollifield records the loss.
The Lady Wolves managed to regroup after Thursday’s two losses. On Saturday, Buford beat Apalachee in just three innings. In the first inning, Buford scored 10 runs. Hollifield homered driving in Taylor and Adams. Pickens singled allowing Malvin to score. That was followed directly by a single by Castorri which drove in two additional runs. The Lady Wolves were not done with Apalachee just yet as Duncan (2 RBIs) had a two-run homer. To add insult to injury, Taylor (2 RBIs) also had a two-run homer. Buford goes up 10-0 after the first.
Buford added five more runs in the bottom of the third when Hollifield had a three-run homer and Emmaline Williams (2 RBIs) hit a two-run home run. The run-rule was called ending the game at 15-0 for Buford. Senior Amelia Veal records the win. Hollifield was the top offensive player with 6 RBIs.
The Lady Wolves are 2-2 on their season thus far. Buford will not face their first region opponent until September 10 when they play Loganville.
By Alicia Couch Payne
