Altman baffles Lady Bulldogs

By Michael A. Cummings
michaelc@cullmantimes.com

May 10, 2008 12:58 am

— ADDISON — Before nearly every inning pitched by J.B. Pennington’s Alise Altman, the visiting fans demanded in a call-response chant: “Three up, three down, woo hoo!”
In the 14 innings she threw Friday against Addison, the senior right-hander obliged them almost every time.
Altman took a perfect game into the seventh inning of Pennington’s second-round sub-state opener against the Lady Bulldogs, and finished the hosts off with a five-hitter in game two that sent the Lady Tigers to next weekend’s state tournament in Montgomery.
And after all that, she still had time to drive to Athens for her sister’s graduation.
“It was a great effort,” Pennington coach Wayne Murphy said. “She’s been resting and getting well all season. The defense behind her took care of it when (Addison) put it in play.”
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Altman walked Britney Taylor, spoiling her bid for a perfect game. One out later, opposing pither Kayla Carden drew another walk, bringing the winning run to the plate. But Altman caught Sadie Beam’s soft liner to preserve the no-hitter.
“She’s a great pitcher,” said Addison coach Jeff Scott. “We put the ball in play, but we didn’t make contact the way we wanted to.”
Pennington broke through with a run in the second after Candace Watts doubled and then scored when Jessica Graves reached on an error. The Lady Tigers then doubled their advantage in the fifth on T.J. Duncan’s RBI double.
Carden was the hard-luck losing pitcher, giving up just two runs on five hits and two walks. She struck out seven.
Altman finished with seven strikeouts and two walks while picking up the win.
J.B. Pennington 2, Addison 1: The Lady Tigers erased a 1-0 sixth-inning deficit with two runs on three hits and a walk.
Tiffany Aldredge started the rally with a one-out single before Jessica Graves drew a walk. Kristen King and Watts followed with back-to-back RBI singles, giving Pennington the lead for good.
Altman pitched a perfect seventh to seal the win, including catching Lauren Lowery’s pop up herself for the third out. Altman struck out eight while giving up five hits and two walks to get her second win on the day.
Carden again took the loss despite giving up just two runs on five hits. She struck out four and walked two.
Addison took the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple by Beam, who was stranded at third when Altman struck out Alex Scott to end the inning.
“Either team could have won both games,” Scott said after Addison fell just short of its eighth consecutive state tournament berth. “We held them to two runs in each game, and when you hold them to two runs, you’re usually going to win.”
Lowery led Addison with a hit and a walk, while Carden, Haley Wiggins and Britney Taylor also had hits.
Tiffany Aldredge had two hits for Pennington (25-7), which will head to Montgomery next weekend looking to improve on last season’s second-place finish.