With a heavy cross wind blowing across the softball diamond toward left field, Boyd Buchanan senior slugger Gracie Petty still put a swing on the ball that left no doubt at the crack of the bat.
Petty's aggressive, full extension swing from the right-handed batter's box sent the ball into orbit and well over the left field fence to help jump start the Lady Bucs in Monday's 10-0 five-inning home victory over Whitwell. She followed her second inning solo shot by also driving in Boyd's second run, which jump-started a nine run fourth for the victors.
The senior third baseman has been a go-to hitter in her prep career, which has seen her launch an estimated 20 home runs, but after a tight 4-3 road victory over GPS last week she felt the need to find her stroke again at the plate.
"That night she went home and hit five or six buckets of balls and you can tell because of the blisters that are healing on her hand still," second-year Boyd Buchanan head coach Tom Watson said. "She came back and crushed two balls at Warner Park this Saturday to the base of the wall that would have been gone any other day, but the win was howling in. She has found her zone again. We can't be successful without her. She is one of our top three hitters and we need her to drive in runs."
Despite being without several starters, Whitwell (2-5) fought through the first three innings and had five base runners but nothing to show from their first two trips to the plate. The Lady Tigers' leadoff hitter, Jamie Willis, reached base three times and had a pair of hard hits, while Stephanie Miller hit a double in the fifth inning to put two runners in scoring position with no outs.
However, Boyd Buchanan (6-3) escaped trouble as starting pitcher Kinley Ervin recorded a lazy fly out to center field before striking out her 10th and 11th batters to cap off her complete game shutout. Ervin had good movement on her pitches and kept hitters off balance with her changeup.
The Lady Bucs' bats sprayed seven hits around the field in their breakthrough fourth inning. Mercedes Smith had an opposite field, two-run double to left field which was followed by three straight RBI singles by KK Butler, Ella Meade and No. 3 hitter Brooke Watson in the nine-run inning.
With Petty setting the tone, Boyd will look to carry their momentum into Thursday's district road battle against the state's top-ranked Silverdale Baptist. The Lady Bucs and Seahawks spilt their district regular season matchups last season with both winning at home.
"To put in the work and see it pay off is really rewarding," Petty said. "We can be a really dangerous team when we all start hitting at the same time. We are learning how to become a complete team. It's a day by day thing, but I believe we will get there."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.