Prep Softball: Personal Milestone

Harrisburg High School softball coach Red Stafford achieved a personal milestone Tuesday, notching career win No. 400.

The Bulldogs knocked off Hardin County 9-5, giving the longtime skipper a win he was more than excited to achieve.

Although Stafford will be the first to tell you, he can't take all the credit.

He spoke highly of his assistants like Randy Jones, Al Way, KT Nelson and Jake Stewart.

"Randy was a pitching coach for me for years," Stafford said. "One of the best things that happened to me was from 1995-96, I got to coach with Al Way and during that time I learned about hard work and fundamentals. I spent a lot time with KT Nelson from 1997-2013 that was very beneficial to me and the last couple of years, getting to work with Jake Stewart has been nice. He's young and brings a lot of energy and just does a nice job with the kids."

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 11-17 overall, while freshman pitcher Matty Hawkins moved to 8-14 on the year, picking up the win in the circle.

Hawkins went the distance, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits, while striking out 10 and walking six.

Mckenzie Sullivan went 2-for-4 at the plate, finishing with an RBI. Abby Dalton was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Jessie Bramlet finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Bulldogs put up one run in the first when Whitney Younger reached safely on an error and moved into scoring position by Brittany Hutchinson and scored on Sullivan's base knock.

Harrisburg then put up four runs in the fourth and held on for the win.

"We did a better job of bunting and moving people over into scoring position, which is something that we have been preaching all year. The last few ball games we've done a better job and that's what it takes and that's what we did tonight."

Stafford also noted how the Bulldogs have polished things up on the defensive side as well.

"Defensively we played better the last couple of ball games," Stafford added. "Matty pitched a good game and we've improved, but the defensively has made a huge difference."