SOFTBALL Taylor-Hudy combo keep Hubbard alive

West Branch bowed out of the Division II tournament with a 10-13 record.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HUBBARD -- Excellent pitching, a solid defense, a home run plus some help from the other team proved to be the winning formula for the Hubbard High softball team Tuesday against West Branch.
Amanda Taylor pitched a three-hitter, shortstop Kelly Hudy slugged her sixth homer of the season and 11th of her four-year career, and the Eagles scored two runs with the help of errors as they outlasted the Warriors, 3-1, in a Division II sectional tournament final at Hubbard High field.
Hubbard (15-4) advanced to next Tuesday's district tournament at Hubbard to face Poland in a semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The Bulldogs advanced with a 7-0 win over Struthers.
Taylor bests Morgan
Taylor (15-3) bested Vana Morgan (5-8), who also pitched a three-hitter. Taylor fanned three batters, Morgan six. The pair were locked in a hitless duel until the fourth inning when Loni Sargent of Hubbard singled.
Morgan got West Branch's first hit in the fifth with a single.
Hubbard scored two unearned runs in the second inning keyed by Taylor and Sargent. Taylor was hit by a pitch and scored when Sargent went all the way to third base on two errors on her hit ball. Sargent then stole home.
The Eagles boosted their lead to 3-0 in the sixth on Hudy's blast over the left-centerfield fence.
West Branch (10-13) scored in the bottom of the sixth when Ellie Geiger singled home Jessica Early, a pinch runner for Jacqui Rhome who had walked. But Taylor put down the uprising with runners on third and first.
Defense delivers
Hubbard coach Ken Miller said Taylor got solid support from the defense because West Branch was hitting the ball well, but at the fielders.
"I told Amanda to let the defense do what they do," Miller said. "Sometimes she tries to throw too hard. I told her to hit her spots and let the defense do [its job]."
Taylor was in form, but she also acknowledged her defense.
"I was feeling real confident. My control was there. I came here ready to play," said Taylor, who praised Hudy's catch of a throw in the dirt for a force-out at second base in the last inning to help thwart a West Branch comeback.
"I had good support on defense. Hudy made a great catch."
"Kelly Hudy is an awesome hitter. I wasn't surprised that she hit that home run."
Miller said Hudy "is one of the best there is [at shortstop], noting she "made her first throwing error of the season" in the game.
Hudy said that hitting homers "comes natural. I have been playing softball since I was young." But, "I'm thinking base hit all the time."
All six of Hudy's homers this year have cleared the fence, five of them at Hubbard.
kovach@vindy.com