Hetzel, Tracy deliver big hits as Falcons sweep Heritage

CONYERS, Ga. - With one powerful swing of the bat, the season ended for the Heritage softball team.

##Maddie Hetzel delivered a walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Flowery Branch to a 5-4 victory in game two of the Region 8-AAAAA Tournament best-of-three quarterfinal series, completing the sweep for the Hall County school.

##While No. 3 seed Heritage (22-7) saw its season come to an end two wins short of the state playoffs, the upstart No. 7 seed Falcons (13-15) clinched a state playoff spot and moved on to the tournament semifinals against second-seeded Apalachee.

##Heritage held a slim, 4-3 lead heading into the home half of the seventh, though Courtney Harris reached on an error to start the inning. After a sacrifice, Kelly Kahlert legged out an infield single and stole second, then Chloe Zoeller lined out to pitcher Kamryn Toney for the second out. After the play, Toney, whose verbally committed to Central Florida, came up limping a bit and after being checked on by a trainer, threw two warmup pitches and stayed in the game. The Patriots elected to intentionally walked Bailey Sims to load the bases, which brought up Hetzel. The first baseman rifled a 1-0 pitch over the head of Jamiya Barker in centerfield and Harris and Kahlert raced home with the winning runs.

##Flowery Branch chipped away at a 4-1 deficit by scoring twice with two outs in the fifth. Cally Alexzandia and Kahlert reached safely on singles and Zoeller polished off a fantastic, 11-pitch at bat by drawing a walk to load the bases. Sims hit a ground ball that Ta’lor Bynum couldn’t handle at third and two runs scored to make it 4-3.

##Heritage built that 4-1 advantage thanks to a pair of two-run innings. In the first, Morgan Whiten’s single drove in Addy Allegretti, who had doubled a batter earlier, and Paige Owens’ sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Flowery Branch got to within 2-1 in the bottom of the first when Kahlert got the first of her three hits and scored on a two-out infield single by Hetzel.

##In the fourth, Toney singled and scored on a throwing error by Harris at shortstop and Lakaitlen Barney’s single scored Bynum and gave the Patriots a three-run cushion.

##The Heritage offense went quiet after that as starter and winning pitcher Kara Kight allowed just four base runners over the final three innings and also got the help of an inning-ending double play in the sixth when Bynum, who had singled with one out, wandered too far away from first on a line out and was doubled off.

##Hetzel’s game two hit wasn’t the first crushing blow against Heritage Wednesday as Jadyn Tracy launched an opposite field, two-run home run in the top of the eighth of the opener that snapped a 2-2 tie in a game Flowery Branch would go on to win 5-3. Tracy had struck out in her previous two plate appearances, including with a runner on in a tie game in the sixth inning after failing twice to put down a sacrifice bunt.

##“She never gives up,” Flowery Branch coach Laura Novotny-Beaver said of Tracy. “She came through when we needed her to, she did exactly what we hoped she would do in a tough situation.”

##The Falcons added another run in the inning with two outs as Harris singled, Brooke Kimbrell walked and Harris touched home on Kahlert’s infield single to make it 5-2.

##Heritage got a run in the bottom of the eighth on a run-scoring single by Toney. But with the tying run aboard, Bynum lifted a high fly ball to left field that was caught against the wall by Kimbrell to end the game.

##Sloppy defense led to the first four runs of the series as the game was tied at 2-2 through seven innings.

##Flowery Branch took advantage of a difficult top of the third for Bynum at third base. Kahlert reached on an infield single with one out and stole second. On Zoeller’s grounder, Bynum bobbled the ball, then threw it past first base and into right field, scoring Kahlert for the first run of the day. Bynum couldn’t handle Sims’ hot smash a batter later and that chased home Zoeller to make it 2-0.

##Game one starter Mackenzie Harris retired nine straight batters until Bynum doubled with one out in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Tori Collins followed with a bloop single to put runners at first and second. Barney bunted and the ball appeared to hit her bat a second time, which would’ve meant Barney was out, but no call was made by either umpire. Flowery Branch catcher Shelby Griffin scooped up the bunt and threw the ball down the right field line and Bynum scored to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

##Collins scored on Barker’s groundout and it was 2-2. It stayed that way until Travis’ blast, which came with two outs and went well beyond the right-center field fence.