Rockdale Citizen

Lady Bulldogs blank Clarke Central

ATHENS -- Candace Johnson was 4-for-4 at the plate with three stolen bases and an RBI to lead the Rockdale softball team to a four-inning 17-0 victory in their Region 8-AAAA opener at Clarke Central on Thursday.

India Davis also was 3-for-5 for the Lady Bulldogs (1-4 overall, 1-0 in 8-AAAA). Davis chipped in three stolen and two runs.

Katelyn Baker was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI, while Breanna Richardson finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Lady Bulldogs will host Loganville in their home opener on Tuesday.

Rockdale volleyball splits at Winder-Barrow

WINDER - The Rockdale volleyball team collected its first victory of the season with a 25-18, 25-20 decision at Winder-Barrow on Thursday night.

Lauren Aikens had eight kills and five aces to lead the Lady Bulldogs (1-5 overall, 1-0 in Area 8-AAAA). Elizabeth Fox chipped in five kills and Libby Bradford finished with 21 assists.

Rockdale fell to Oconee County 25-23, 25-10 in its opening match. Aikens led the way with six kills, followed by Raechel Simmons with four and Kendra Lackey with three.

"Oconee stomped us last year, so for us to come out and play as good as we did, tells me good things. I changed the lineup in Game 2, probably a bad decision, but that had nothing to do with them scoring eight in a row on serve against us to take the score from 5-4 to 13-4, and we couldn't recover," Rockdale coach Stephen Sansing said. "Against Winder, we came out a little slow, but I was impressed in the fact we came back from down 14-6 to win 25-18, and then we jumped out to a lead in game two, withstood the charge from then, and closed the match out."

Salem softball falls at Apalachee

BETHLEHEM - The Salem softball team dropped a 7-2 decision to Apalachee in its Region 8-AAAA opener on Thursday.

The Lady Seminoles (1-2 overall, 0-1 in Region 8-AAAA) held a 2-1 lead until the fourth innings before some defensive lapses turned the tide in favor of the Lady Wildcats.

"We still need to put hits together, but I thought we did hit well enough to win," Salem coach Stephanie Bassett said. "The defense is what killed us. There were also some key errors that we couldn't recover from."

Joy Vason and Alexis Chisman had doubles for the Lady Seminoles, while Rylee Rogers and Stephanie Brassard chipped in singles.