Ed Taylor, Sports Correspondent

Senior Tori Lyons (9-4) pitched her best game of her high school career last week as the Lafayette Lady Hornets girls softball team defeated number one seed Trenton 8-0 in the championship game of the girls district softball tournament at Bronson.



It was the third straight title for Lafayette and fourth over the past five seasons. In 2001 the Lady Hornets finished runner-up in the district tournament but went on to win a regional championship and advance to the final four in the state tournament.



Coach Derek Garland, in his first season at the helm of the Lafayette program, said winning the district the last three seasons added some pressure for a first year coach. “There was a little pressure but it was up to the girls to actually win the games,” he said. “I was just really proud of them and the way they came out and played last week.”



Softball fans could have had some doubts whether Coach Garland’s ballclub would actually be a district final this season after a very slow start. “I think we finally started coming together about half through the year,” said Coach Garland. “They started getting along and some of the basketball girls started to get into the swing of things.” The win improved the Lady Hornets to 16-9 on the season.



The Lady Hornets played three games in the just completed tournament and did it without much preparation. “They played the three games without any practice,” said the Lafayette coach. “They have been here before and they know what it takes to win it all.”



The Lady Hornets grabbed a 2-0 lead as they came to bat in the top of the fifth inning. Kayla Smith worked Trenton pitcher Kristie Beech for a leadoff walk after fouling off about 10 pitches. Katy Jo Walker singled sending Smith to third and Walker ended up at second base. However, the game was put on hold as the rains began to fall bringing on a 30 minute rain delay.



When play had resumed, Trenton elected to intentionally walk Natalie Land loading the bases. Lyons promptly singled home a run and three runs circled the bases on a triple by junior Stacy Lewis who later scored on Kari Waters groundout that gave the Lady Hornets a 8-0 lead.



The two teams split the regular season with each team winning on the road against each other. “I feel like we gave them that game,” said Coach Garland. “We gave them about three unearned runs. But we were confident going in. Like I said, these girls had been here before. They knew what to do and how to handle the situation.”



Lyons, who does not possess a blazing fast pitch, said her delivery to the plate is for more consistency in the strike zone. “I guess you could say it was by design,” she said. “While other teams have the faster pitchers I have always pitched with the same speed. I feel I can use my accuracy and use the spin of the ball to be as successful as other girls who pitch fast.”



Lyons credits the defense behind for a lot of her success on the mound. “When you pitch slower you have to have good defense behind you,” said Lyons. “Because we are such a close team I have a lot of faith in our defense.” Lyons said she did feel intimidated going into the championship game against the top seeded team in the district. “I was a little bit intimidated but I thought about back to the first time we played and that game went 11 innings,” she said. “We won that game but we lost the second game 3-2 and it was close all the way. I knew if we could come out and play error free ball we could beat them. But them being the number one seed did have a little bit of effect on my mind.”



Lafayette took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a walk to Land, a stolen base and Lewis’ RBI single. It was 2-0 after the Lady Hornets batted in the third. Land opened with a single, stole second and came home when the catchers throw sailed into centerfield. Lafayette added their final run in the top of the seventh as Danielle Thomas singled with one out. The seventh run scored on Lewis’ third hit of the game, an RBI double.



Lafayette will face Trinity Catholic in a first round regional tournament game at home this afternoon at 5 p.m.