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Chelsea proved dominant on both offense and defense at the Gulf Coast Classic III as the Hornets beat Good Hope, Rehobeth and Vernon Hills in pool play. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

GULF SHORES – The Chelsea Hornets put together a strong performance over their spring break as they secured three victories in pool play for the Gulf Coast Classic III.

While Chelsea’s run ended in the first round of bracket play, it defeated the Good Hope Raiders 13-0, Rehobeth Rebels 4-1 and Vernon Hills Cougars 11-1 on Tuesday, March 25 at the Gulf Shores Sports Complex.

After a steady stream of rain pushed back the start of pool play by a day, the Hornets wasted little time getting on the board against Good Hope in the opening game of pool play.

Chelsea loaded up the bases within the first four batters of the game, and after Alaysha Crews hit a ground ball to third on the ensuing at-bat, the Raiders third baseman opted to get the out at her base. That allowed Lemmie Floyd to come home and give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.

That started a two-out rally for Chelsea as Emma Parmley hit an RBI single before Crews stole home to make it a 3-0 advantage.

The Hornets resumed the offensive onslaught in the top of the second after a one-out single followed by an error put two runners on. Katie Hopson and Caroline Brown would hit back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 5-0.

A Sydney Carroll walk kept the rally going long enough for Lorelei Beck to drive both Floyd and Brown home on an RBI single to center field, putting Chelsea up 7-0 after two innings.

The Hornets kept rolling in the third inning, getting Allie Scott aboard ahead of a Hopson RBI double. Brown then stepped to the plate and ripped a two-run home run to center to make it a 10-0 game.

In the fourth, Scott then drove a run home off a sacrifice fly, and Chelsea scored twice more in the fifth to finish off the win, first off a Lydia Dobrinski RBI single and then off a home-plate error for the 13-0 victory in five innings.

Brown, Hopson and Beck each finished 3-for-3 at the plate. Brown earned three RBI and two runs off her two-run home run and RBI single, Hopson secured three runs and two RBI and Beck finished with a walk, two RBI and a run.

Beck also took the win in the circle with eight strikeouts in four shutout innings against five hits and no walks.

Brown once again helped her team get ahead early against Rehobeth. She took a line drive to right all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run and the early 1-0 lead.

However, the Rebels equalized in the bottom half of the inning, using a single and an error to set up a sacrifice bunt that plated a run.

Chelsea responded with three-straight hits to open the second inning, the last of which was an RBI single from Olivia Palfreeman that put the Hornets back in front 2-1.

That one-run lead held until the top of the sixth when Sadie Wilson’s lead-off single turned into a run thanks to pinch runner Lauren Hilyer’s stolen base followed by an error at first, making the lead 3-1.

The next inning, a lead-off error and a Beck walk put two on with one out for Crews. The pitcher scored both runners with an RBI single to seal the 4-1 victory.

Crews took the win in the circle with four strikeouts in seven innings, working around one unearned run, three hits and one walk to not have any runs charged to her docket.

Sophia Wilson was the lone Chelsea batter with a multi-hit day as she went 2-for-3 at the plate. Brown, Crews and Palfreeman each finished with an RBI in the win.

The Hornets finished the day with their second run-rule win of the tournament, this time dominating Vernon Hills at the plate.

Hopson’s lead-off double turned into an RBI double from Brown to open up the 1-0 lead and start a five-run inning. Two batters later, Brown stole home to double up the lead, and then with two on and nobody out, Wilson scored Carroll off a well-placed bunt single.

Crews then kept the rally going with an RBI single ahead of an RBI ground out from Parmley, increasing the lead to 5-0 before the Cougars got the next two outs to end the inning.

Vernon Hills got on the board shortly after with a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the first, but that would be the last run it scored all game.

Just like the first inning, Hopson kicked off the action with a double. Brown then singled to put two on for Carroll, who hit a two-run double for the first of three-straight run scoring hits from the Hornets. Beck followed it up with an RBI double before Wilson hit an RBI single for the 9-1 lead.

While the next two batters got out, Palfreeman didn’t let the inning pass without getting her team into double figures as she hit an RBI single down the line to increase the lead to 10-1.

That was the last run of the second, but Brown stole home just before the middle of the third to cap off the scoring and pave the way for the 11-1 win.

Parmley got the win with two innings of one-run softball, earning five strikeouts against two hits and three walks. Wilson and Carroll each finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs, and Brown was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI.

The Hornets would go on to lose their first game of bracket play 3-1 to East Lawrence. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before a Beck solo shot equalized the score in the bottom of the fourth.

However, back-to-back hit batters after a pitching change led to the go-ahead run coming home in the top of the fifth and setting up the 3-1 victory for East Lawrence.

Wilson was 2-for-3 in the loss.

Chelsea improved to 17-9-1 with the wins and will return home for the first of three non-area games in three days. The Hornets will host Leeds on Tuesday, April 1, head to Oak Mountain on Wednesday, April 2 and face Mortimer Jordan at home on Thursday, April 3. Each game will start at 4:30 p.m.

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