By Maurice Patton

FRANKLIN – Coming off a win over third-seeded Brentwood in its District 11-AAA softball tournament opener, Spring Hill had its offensive opportunities for a second straight upset Tuesday at Fly Park.

But the Lady Raiders were unable to convert early against district regular-season runner-up Summit, and the Lady Spartans took advantage when they created a sixth-inning chance against Kat Carter – scoring on Ashlyn Easley’s two-out double for the game’s only run in a 1-0 decision.

“You have to have some composure against a pitcher like Kat,” Summit coach Jenny Stevenson said following the victory. “You don’t have a lot of time to whine and cry. I’m proud of our composure at the plate.

“We knew we weren’t going to score a lot of runs. We wanted to keep them off the bases, score one and make it work.”

To that end, Stevenson – and North Alabama signee Elena Escobar – was ready when the No. 6 seed Lady Raiders did mount a threat against Summit starter Lily Kate Richards.

Consecutive fifth-inning one-out base hits by Stephanie Williams, D’Naijah Wade and Carter prompted the insertion of Escobar, who struck out Marissa Ellis and Bella Umstead to end the inning. Escobar then retired all six hitters she faced in Spring Hill’s final two at-bats, striking out five.

“Lily Kate’s done a great job for us,” Stevenson said. “We just like mixing it up. Spring Hill had seen Elena twice, so we decided to start ‘L.K.’ But with three games in a row, three days in a row, you want to keep those legs as fresh as possible.”

Carter, a Jacksonville State signee, struck out six – reaching the 500 mark for her career with her second – to keep Spring Hill (10-15) in the game right up to the end. However, the Lady Raiders stranded seven baserunners, three in scoring position, as they were unable to reprise Monday’s 13-2 win over Brentwood.

“She made that a goal her freshman year, and she reached it without having a junior year,” Spring Hill coach Angelina Martinez said regarding Carter’s milestone accomplishment, a highlight in an otherwise disappointing performance.

“I’ve told the girls time and time again, in this game, discipline shows. We didn’t execute.”

Summit (19-6), led by Morgan Woodside’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate, will face regular-season champ Dickson County, a 5-1 winner Tuesday over Page, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Centennial.

Spring Hill will meet Franklin — a 2-1, eight-inning winner over Independence on Abby O’Hagan’s one-out walk-off double — in a 5:30 p.m. elimination game Wednesday at Fly Park.

“Our road got longer, but our goal is still the same,” Martinez said.

Summit 1, Spring Hill 0

SH 000 000 0 – 0 3 0
Su 000 001 x – 1 4 0

Kat Carter and Callie Tuck. Lily Kate Richards, Elena Escobar (5) and Hannah Sundberg. W: Escobar. L: Carter.