Lady Bulldogs battle to the end in heartbreaking loss to Chuckey-Doak
Published 4:22 pm Thursday, May 8, 2025
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Lady Bulldogs pitcher Briley Davis gets ahead of the batter after hitting the zone in the second inning.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent During a called timeout by the opposition, Coach Allison Riddle talks to her base runners.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Mallory Lamb hits a hard ground ball to short for a base hit.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Center fielder Maleah Scalf camps under a fly ball to record the out.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent The Lady Bulldogs grab the lead in the fourth inning as they use three hits and three walks to go up 5-4.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Hampton first baseman Emma Birchfield fields the bunt attempt and tags the runner for the out.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Second baseman Lauren Smith ranges back and secures the out off a pop-up.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Briley Davis and Hadley Vines nearly collide on a shallow fly ball near the mound.
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Ron Marvel
Star Correspondent
This 2025 version of the Lady Bulldogs just seemed to get better as the season went on, and although they came up painstakingly short of a regional berth, maybe the first one in their history, this team will be remembered for much more. A 6-5 loss to the Black Knights in the District 1-2A on the Knights’ home field may also be remembered as an announcement that this up-and-coming Lady Bulldogs team is changing the culture and their trajectory for the future.
The game saw the Black Knights jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after two base hits and a Tralyn Southerland towering fly ball made its way over the centerfield wall. But Briley Davis settled down and struck out the next two batters. The Lady Bulldogs would get a run back as Matti Holtsclaw would come home after a bases-loaded walk from Lilian Andrews. They would look for more, but a hard ground ball that looked destined for the outfield off the bat of Hannah Smith would be corralled to end the inning.
The game would stay at 3-1 until Chuckey-Doak’s Marissa Malone would lay down a sac bunt in the bottom of the third to score a run and push the lead to 4-1. But, as has been the case most of the season, this Lady Bulldogs team would just not go away. They would load the bases after Hannah Smith would beat out a sac bunt, and then Maleah Scalf would draw the bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2. With the bases loaded, Emma Birchfield would hit a single to left to plate two runs and tie the game at four all. After a Mallory Lamb walk, Briley Davis would hit a bloop single to right to give Hampton a 5-4 lead.
The game would stay that way until the bottom of the fifth when the Knights’ Malone would hit an RBI double to tie the game. The Lady Bulldogs would get runners at second and third with one out in the top of the sixth, but two groundouts would end the threat.
Chuckey-Doak would break the tie off an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth, and although the Lady Bulldogs would get the go-ahead runner on base in the top of the seventh after a Smith walk and Scalf single, a fielder’s choice would end the game and the Lady Bulldogs’ 2025 campaign. Head Lady Bulldogs Coach Allison Riddle was, of course, disappointed but also reflected on her team’s toughness and character: “This season has been nothing short of amazing. The girls have worked hard, and it showed. They’ve grown in more ways than can be counted. Our three seniors have given their all for Hampton softball for four years, and I could not be more proud of their dedication and hard work.”
Davis went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead Hampton, while the Lady Bulldogs collected eight hits in all.
