The W.S. Neal Lady Eagle softball team went 5-1 in the T.R. Miller Invitational Friday and Saturday and finished as runner-up to improve their record to 7-5.
The Lady Eagles defeated J.U. Blacksher 2-0 Friday in their first game and won 10-1 over Hillcrest in their second game Friday.
On Saturday, W.S. Neal started the day by beat Baldwin County 1-0 to win their pool.
In the single elimination part of the tournament, the Lady Eagles defeated Greenville 5-1 and J.U. Blacksher 5-0 before losing to T.R. Miller in the championship game 6-4.
“I’m extremely pleased with the way our team played in this tournament,” W.S. Neal Lady Eagle head coach Jeff Haney said. “They showed me a great deal over six games. Some of them good and some not so good. Our hitting improved a great deal in the last week, but there is still room for improvement. I was proud to see them be able to come from behind in the Greenville game and do what it took to win. That is something we have struggled with in the past.”
Haney said the pitching for the Lady Eagles was fantastic.
“Coach (Jason) Blaney did a great job calling pitches and Kaitlin (Hadaway) did an outstanding job in all six games,” Haney said. “We made a few defensive mistakes, but these are things that will happen early in a season with players in new positions. We seemed to run out of gas in the last game. I think if both teams are fresh, the outcome would have been different. Congratulations to T.R. Miller on a well played game. I think this weekend showed that W.S. Neal Softball is on the rise and can play with any team around. I’m very proud of this team.”

WSN 2, JUB 0
Against J.U. Blacksher, the Lady Eagles scored one run in the first inning and one in the fourth to start the tournament out with a win.
Kena Ellison, Paige Grantham, Hadaway, Autumn Hinote, Jade Danley, Anna Nelson and Kaeli Brown all had hits with Hinote and Nelson having an RBI each.
Hadaway earned the win going five innings, striking out six, walked one and allowed one hit.

WSN 10, Hillcrest 1
Against Hillcrest in game two Friday, W.S. Neal scored seven runs in the second inning to help get the win.
The Lady Eagles added two runs in the third and one in the fourth while holding the Jaguars to one run in the fourth to get the win.
Ellison, Grantham, Hadaway, Nelson and Brown all had one hit each while KeKe Floyd had a triple and a single.
Hadaway earned the win on the mound striking out seven and allowing no hits.

WSN 1, Baldwin County 0
Against Baldwin County on Saturday, in a game that would decide the pool B champion, W.S. Neal edged out BCHS 1-0.
Scoreless through four innings, W.S. Neal scored the lone run in the game to get the win.
With one out in the inning, Lauren Boatwright reached on an error and stole second base before advancing to third on a single by Paige Grantham. Hadaway would get a bunt single to score Boatwright for the winning run.
Offensively for W.S. Neal, Ellison had one hit and Boatwright had a double. Grantham, Hadaway, Hinote and Nelson all had singles in the win.
Hadaway earned the win on the mound allowing one hit, walked three, and struck out six.

WSN 5, Greenville 1
Against Greenville in the single elimination tournament, the Lady Eagles won 5-1.
Hadaway pitched five innings striking out 13, walking six and allowed no hits and one unearned run.
Grantham was 1-for-3 with one run scored and Floyd and Nelson were 1-for-2. Brown was 2-for-2 with one run scored and Ellison, Boatwright, and Hadaway all had one run each.

WSN 5, JUB 0
Against J.U. Blacksher in the semifinals, W.S. Neal won 5-0.
Hadaway struck out eight, walked one and allowed one hit.
Grantham was 2-for-3 with one run scored, Boatwright was 2-for-3 and Hinote, Danley and Floyd all were 1-for-3 with one run scored. Ellison scored a run in the win.

TRM 6, WSN 4
In the finals against T.R. Miller, the Lady Eagles lost 6-4 to win the runner-up trophy.
Hadaway struck out five, walked one, hit one batter, and surrendered four hits, six runs, with four being earned.
Danley was 1-for-2 with Ellison, Grantham, Danley, Hadaway and Hadaway all scoring one run.