Patience pays off for Gretna softball team against Appomattox

GRETNA — A bit of patience, a pair of infield singles and a solid outing from pitcher Teresa Dalton was all the Gretna Hawks needed to beat Appomattox 2-0 and stay atop the Dogwood District standings on Wednesday.

Dalton scattered four hits over seven innings and struck out nine to pick up the win, while a seeing eye single by Carrie Dudley early and a bloop single by Nikki Bowler late gave the Hawks (5-3, 3-0 Dogwood) all the offense they needed to hold off the Raiders (2-4, 1-3 Dogwood).

“The biggest difference is they had timely hitting,” Appomattox coach Gary Ferguson said of the Hawks. “Sometimes the breaks just go your way.”

But in this case, the breaks were manufactured. Gretna coach Ketina Brooks made that clear enough when she hollered to her players, “The key word for the day is wait.”

And wait the Hawks did.

While Dalton pitched a gem on the mound, relying on her defense to get out of the occasional jam, the Gretna offense hinged on its self control.

Adjusting to the speed of Appomattox pitcher Haley Lawson, a touch slower than what the Hawks had seen from the William Campbell Generals on Friday, the Gretna batters had to be a bit more disciplined — waiting on and for their pitches.

“We just really like to anticipate the hit because we want to feel that — coming off the bat strong,” Gretna’s Raquel Martin said. “It’s tough sometimes when you really want that hit though.”

But patience paid off for the Hawks. Gretna got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Dudley waited until the fifth pitch of her at-bat to hit a hopping ground ball that squeezed past Lawson and then under the glove of Appomattox shortstop LaTeesha Christin. The hit rolled to a stop a few feet behind Christin, but it had already bought enough time for Dudley to safely reach base and for Martin to score from second.

“Coach told me to go,” Martin said. “She asked us for that run in the first or second inning, and we got it done.”

The Hawks bought a little more breathing room later, tacking on another run on an infield single in the bottom of the fifth when Bowler blooped the fourth pitch she saw over the Appomattox infielders, which had been playing in. The Raiders made a mad dash for the ball, but it dropped in deep enough to allow Ceseley Haynes to score from second.

“I had to put my jets on,” Haynes said.

That two-run cushion proved to be more than enough as Dalton went on to strike out the side in the sixth inning, and then fell back on her defense a bit in the seventh to retire the Raiders in four batters.

“I have a lot of confidence in my defense,” Dalton said. “They always back me up good.

“Oh, I need them every day. Today, they gave me a shutout.”.