DEMOPOLIS – The Demopolis High Lady Tigers earn the right to move forward in the AHSAA playoffs Tuesday with a pair of wins against the visiting Montevallo Lady Bulldogs, winning 1-0 in game one and 8-4 in game two.

The Lady Tigers were able to grab a one run lead early in game one of the three game series when senior Katie Simmons flew one into a gap in right centerfield to score junior Brittany McGee from third base. It would the lady tigers only run of the game, but it would be enough to preserve a win as senior pitcher Kelly Keasler dominated the Lady Bulldogs through seven innings.

Keasler (15-3) collected 11K’s in game one, while giving up no runs on four hits with no walks. At the plate it was Simmons leading the way going 1-for-2 with an RBI single, while McGee and Brittany Thorne followed going 1-for-3, both with doubles. Senior Heather Wright would also go 1-for-2 with a single.

“We didn’t hit the ball very well in game one,” DHS head coach Wayne Harris said. “I think we were just a little too anxious to get that first win and we also a little too nervous about playing a team that we knew nothing about.”

But it didn’t take the Lady Tigers too long to figure it all out and get back to hitting the ball like they have all season, as they ripped the Lady Bulldogs to pieces in the second game with an impressive streak of hits that would result in a total of eight runs.

The DHS bats finally came alive in the top of the fourth inning, as the Lady Tigers would collect two runs to take a 2-0 lead. But the Lady Bulldogs were not prepared to go down without a fight as they collected a run of their own in the fourth inning to make it a 2-1 game.

But as starting pitcher Katie Jones began to show signs of fatigue the Lady Tigers continued to show signs that they wanted another state championship. The Lady Tigers pounded out four more runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to earn their 14th consecutive win.

On the mound for the Lady Tigers in game two was senior Lauren Roark who earned 3K’s, while giving up four runs on five hits with two walks in six-and-a-third innings.

But it was her bat that got all the attention as she led the Lady Tigers at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and a single with 2RBIs. McGee also stepped up at the plate in game two, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single with 2RBIs.

Keasler and Simmons followed, each going 2-for-4 with 1RBI, while Wright went 2-for-3 and senior Timie Lee went 1-for-3 with a single.

Jones took the loss in both game one and game two for the Lady Bulldogs as she completed both games going 14 innings earning 11K’s, while giving up nine runs on 14 hits with one walk.

“I was glad to see us relax in the second game and do what we do best at the plate,” Harris said.

With the two wins, the Lady Tigers will now move deeper into the state playoffs to a second Sub-State, three-game series with the winner of the Trinity/Beauregard series. The Lady Tigers will likely travel for that series, which kicks off this Saturday.