Lacee Giddens pitched three innings in relief. She also reached base in both of her at-bats on Tuesday.

The Suwannee High School softball traded blows with the Columbia Lady Tigers for the first five innings of Tuesday’s game.

The Lady Bulldogs landed a knockout in the sixth.

A seven-run sixth inning propelled the Lady Bulldogs to a 13-5 win at Rick Norris Field in Live Oak. SHS had five hits in the sixth, highlighted by an Alexis Brown two-run homer. The Lady Bullodgs took advantage of two walks and two errors in the inning. 

“We had a few nice hits and capitalized on some errors in the inning,” said SHS coach Jeff Smith.

Sophomore Skylar Redish also homered in the game. She smashed a line drive over the fence in right center. It was her first varsity home run, a three-run shot. She put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 5-1 in the third inning.

The Lady Tigers kept battling back. Freshman Dara Gaylard slammed a two-run home run to bring CHS within two runs. That was as close as they would get. 

Brandi Davis pitched the first four innings for SHS. She allowed two runs on five hits. She had to leave the game after colliding with Columbia pitcher Ivorie Maltby on a play at home plate. Lacee Giddens came on in relief to pick up the last nine outs of the game.

“We’ve got two good pitchers,” Smith said. “That’s why we have two good pitchers, so if one gets hurt or we need to bring somebody else in.”

The Lady Bulldogs committed four errors on defense. They weren’t as sharp as previous games, but made some outstanding plays to get out of trouble. Catcher Jordan Roberts picked off a runner at second base in the last inning. 

In the fifth inning, a throw got by Kasey Frazier at third base. She chased down the ball, and gunned home to nail Alaina Perry, who was trying to score on the play. Frazier’s play helped shut down a Lady Tigers rally.

“We scored enough runs, but we have to work on our defense a little,” Smith said. “We also made some defensive plays that caught them [Columbia] off guard.”

S.K. Lewis went 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Lady Tigers. Brown led the SHS offense. She finished 3-4 with four RBI.

SHS improved to a 2-0 record with the victory. Columbia is 1-1 for the year. The Lady Bulldogs will face Santa Fe on Feb. 16. It will be a home game with a 7 p.m. start.