By By Adam Robinson
Sports Editor
The W.S. Neal High School softball got the monkey off their back Tuesday night at home—kind of.
The W.S. Neal Eagles swept a doubleheader with Hillcrest High School of Evergreen in a JV and varsity doubleheader to end the regular season.
The win improved W.S. Neal to 5-13 overall, one more win than last years 4-14 record. The win also ended a losing streak to the Lady Jaguars dating back to last year.
In the first game of the doubleheader, W.S. Neal claimed a 6-5 win over the Lady Jaguars and in game two, claimed a 19-11 win.
Game one: W.S. Neal 6, Hillcrest 5
Jade Danley pitched a two-hitter in game one as the Lady Eagles used a five-run second inning to hold on for a 6-5 win over Hillcrest.
Danley pitched the complete game and allowed six total runs on two hits, walked five and struck out three in three innings.
Alia Fountain was 1-for-2 with one RBI and Autumn Hinote was 2-for-2 with one RBI in the win.
Morgan Cooper added a hit in the win and had an RBI.
Leading 1-0 after the first inning of play, W.S. Neal got five runs in the second inning on two hits and three Jaguar errors.
Game two: W.S. Neal 19, Hillcrest 11
Katie Elliott was a homerun shy of the cycle in game two and Kaitlin Hadaway struck out 11 Lady Jags in game as W.S. Neal picked up their fifth win of the season with a 19-11, eight-run win Tuesday night.
Elliott was 4-for-5 at the plate in the win with four RBIs, two singles, a double and a triple in the win.
Hadaway, an eighth-grader at W.S. Neal Middle School, went the complete game for the Lady Eagles and allowed seven earned runs on eight hits, walked two and had 11 strikeouts to get the win.
W.S. Neal trailed 2-0 after the top of the first inning, but cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning.
After a quick top of the second inning, W.S. Neal scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning to grab a 4-2 lead. Hillcrest tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the third inning, but a six-run third inning for the Lady Eagles gave W.S. Neal a 10-4 lead.
W.S. Neal added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 12-4 lead but fell to three runs in the fifth inning as Hillcrest cut the lead to 12-7.
W.S. Neal scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to have a 16-7 lead, but Hillcrest added three more runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 16-10.
W.S. Neal scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 19-10 lead.
Hillcrest scored one run in the top of the seventh inning, but it was not enough as W.S. Neal claimed the 19-11 win.
Renee Boatwright was 4-for-5 with one RBI and four singles.
Anna Nelson added an RBI in the win and Autumn Hinote was 2-for-5 with a double and one RBI.
Gracee Dixon was 2-for-3 with one RBI and Hadaway had an RBI in the win.
Lauren Boatwright was 1-for-4 in the win for the Lady Eagles.
Jennie Crawford had an error-aided inside-the-park homerun for the Lady Eagles.